Pokémon: Alternate Adventure
by The Azure Guardian
Summary: A rewrite of the first 5 seasons of Pokémon. Someone new joins the group and things are sure to be different. And what happens when this new person turns out to be an old friend of Misty's? Hopefully better than it seems. Rated T for safety. OCxMisty. canceled
1. Challenge Of The Samurai

**A/N: Alright everyone, this is a new story from me. I got the idea after watching a few of the old episodes of Pokémon (which I was able to get on DVD). Basically it's the first 5 seasons all over again with each chapter being 1 episode (so get ready for at least 200 chapters). This will be starting from episode 4 of the first season, and there will be an OC in here, which is who the new person is. The OC in this story is of my own creation (no duh) and is based off of myself for the most part. I hope this story does well and I hope anyone who reads will enjoy it.**

**Ash: So what's going on here?**

**Me: Oh, Hi Ash.**

**Ash: Huh?**

**Misty: Hey you two.**

**Me: Hi, Misty.**

**???: hey everyone.**

**Ash: Huh?**

**Misty: Who are you?**

**???: Come on, don't tell me you don't recognize me, Misty.**

**Misty: I don't even know you.**

**???: Aww.**

**Me: Don't worry, you'll remember him soon enough, Misty.**

**Misty: If you say so.**

**???: Hey, since this is my debut, mind if I give the disclaimer?**

**Me: Go right ahead.**

**???: Thanks. Azurekite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

**Me: And be glad I don't.**

* * *

-Chapter 1: Episode 4: Challenge Of The Samurai-

Ash and Misty were trekking through the Viridian Forest without even a clue as to where they were going. Though for Ash, it didn't really matter to him.

"Ash, don't tell me we're lost," Misty said somewhat annoyed.

"How can we be lost if I'm looking for more Pokémon to catch?" Ash asked, earning a nod from Pikachu.

"Well I just want to get out of here," Misty said.

"Then why don't you get going?" Ash questioned.

"Because you still owe me for my bike!" Misty shouted.

Ash just shrugged his shoulders as they kept walking. But when Ash took another step, he heard a muffled cry of pain and he stopped.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Ash asked.

"Hear what?" Misty wondered.

"Hm… Guess it was just my imagination," Ash figured.

They kept walking but this time Misty heard a groan of pain when she walked on something.

"Wh-what was that?" Misty wondered.

"Would you mind… getting off me?" a voice asked from underneath Misty.

"Huh?" Misty wondered as she looked down to see a boy, roughly around her age if not a little older.

Misty screamed and jumped off him.

"I'm sorry," Misty apologized.

The boy slowly stood up and rubbed his face, which is where Ash stepped. The boy looked at the two of them and they looked at him. He was wearing dark blue jeans, a dark orange t-shirt which seemed to stick to his upper torso and his arm and shoulder muscles were clearly visible. His hair was a messy chocolate brown while his bangs covered his eyes a bit. Upon seeing his eyes, they were the strangest shade of green that either Ash or Misty had ever seen.

"Why don't you watch where you're going next time?" the boy said as he rubbed his face.

"Sorry, but we didn't see you lying there," Ash admitted.

The boy then removed his hand from his face to look at the people who stepped on him, but he just seemed to stare at Misty.

'_What the? She looks… familiar,_' the boy thought to himself, though it seemed to be creeping Misty out for how long he was staring at her.

"What are you looking at me for?" Misty asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the boy said as he blinked, but then he pointed at her. "But you look very familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Bleh. In your dreams, maybe," Misty said in disgust. '_Is this guy really trying to hit on me?_'

"What? No, I didn't mean like that. You look like a friend of mine from a few years back," the boy explained.

"Huh?" Misty wondered as she took a closer look at the boy. '_He does look a little familiar._'

"Come on Misty. You just going to stand there or don't you want out of here?" Ash asked as he started to leave.

"You better not leave me here, Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled.

"What? Misty?" the boy said.

"What?" Misty wondered.

"Did he say your name is Misty?" the boy asked again.

"Yeah, what about it?" Misty asked.

"Don't you remember me, Misty?" the boy asked, earning a confused look from the red-head. "It's me. Aaron."

"Aaron?" Misty asked as the boy pointed to himself and nodded twice.

The boy sighed when Misty still looked confused, but then he got an idea.

"Are your sisters still causing you trouble?" Aaron asked.

Misty looked shocked at how this boy knew Misty had sisters. But then it clicked into place.

"Oh my gosh, Aaron!" Misty then seemed to jump and hug the boy, earning total confusion from Ash and Pikachu. "It's been so long. How have you been?"

"I've been fine, but if you don't let go you might just break my back," Aaron answered and Misty let go so he could stand up straight. "I see you finally recognized me."

"Sorry about that, but you look a lot different from when I last saw you," Misty said.

"It's okay. It was about a year or two ago, so I understand," Aaron said.

"Hey Misty, what's going on?" Ash said, getting rather impatient.

"Ash, don't be rude. This is an old friend of mine. His name's Aaron," Misty said to which Aaron just waved.

"So Misty, what are you doing in a place like this? I thought you hated Bug Pokémon," Aaron said.

"Trust me, it's not of my own decision," Misty answered and then looked at Ash. "I'm here because I'm following him."

Aaron just blinked.

"And why are you following him?" Aaron asked.

"Because he destroyed my bike and I'm not leaving until he pays me back for it!" Misty yelled, but directed her anger towards Ash.

"I said I'd pay you back some day and I will!" Ash yelled back, but the both of them earned a laugh from Aaron. "What's so funny?"

"Man, you're really in for it. If someone owes Misty something she will not leave them alone. Trust me, it's happened before," Aaron said. "Heck, it's even happened with me."

"Huh? She did the same to you? Did you break one of her bikes too?" Ash asked.

"No. It was one of her toys when we were younger. I accidentally stepped on it and broke it. But I was able to replace it by giving her one of mine instead," Aaron said.

"At least it wasn't a doll you broke, because I doubt you would've made the replacement so easily," Misty said.

"So how are you two such good friends anyway?" Ash asked.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story," Aaron said.

"We got time," Ash said quickly.

"Alright then," Aaron said, but before he was about to start, Misty pulled his ear to her mouth.

"Please don't tell him where we're from or who my sisters are, okay?" Misty whispered in Aaron's ear.

Aaron just smiled and gave her a thumbs up, earning a smile and a nod from Misty.

"Anyway, it was about 6 years ago. Misty and I were playing a in park in our town, of course I didn't even know her. Heck, I hadn't even met her before that day. I was only 9 years old and I think Misty was 6," Aaron said, only to get a nod from Misty in response. "I was just playing on the swings or the slide when I heard a scream. I went to check it out and I saw a little girl with a Caterpie on top of her head. She was just running around screaming, trying to get the bug off. Three older girls, who I assumed were her sisters, were just laughing at the scene. So I grabbed one of my father's PokéBalls that I had taken with me that day since my parents weren't home and I threw it. I didn't know what Pokémon was in it though, but I was really glad when it turned out to be my dad's Tentacool since it's one of my favorite Pokémon. Anyway, I had Tentacool grab the Caterpie and move it somewhere else. I went to see if the girl was okay and she looked up at me and Tentacool. It seemed like something spontaneous when she just grabbed Tentacool and hugged it, thanking it for getting the bug off her. I thought Tentacool would attack from such a sudden movement, but it seemed to like the hug from the girl."

"So you saved her from a bug. Big deal," Ash said, interrupting the story.

"Don't be rude Ash," Misty said and hit him in the head, earning a sweatdrop from Aaron.

"After that, Misty and I started to hang out and we become good friends. And it even turned out we had a few things in common. We both really liked Water-type Pokémon and we both had a dislike for Bug Pokémon. Though for Misty, dislike would be an understatement. She had a complete fear of bugs. As for me, I don't mind them, but I'd never catch one," Aaron said.

"I see," Ash said.

"So what are you doing here, Aaron?" Misty asked.

"I just thought I'd try looking for Water Pokémon somewhere else. But there don't seem to be any here," Aaron said.

"Well I have an idea, why don't you come with us?" Misty offered.

"I'd love to, Misty. Maybe we could catch up as well," Aaron said, earning a smile from Misty.

"Well it's like they say, the more the merrier," Ash said and held out his hand to Aaron, to which the boy shook.

The three of them started walking through Viridian Forest again when Ash and Aaron suddenly heard a scream, though Aaron suddenly felt pain as Misty jumped on him and started to crush his throat.

"What's wrong now?" Ash asked the red-head.

"I think I see another bug. Gross," Misty said as she pointed towards where the bug was.

Ash and Pikachu then sighed.

"Maybe it's a… "Cow"-terpie!" Ash joked, causing Aaron, and thus Misty, to fall over.

"That's not funny!" Misty yelled as Ash laughed. "You know I hate bugs and I saw one right over there!"

Misty pointed back at where she saw the bug as Aaron also stood up and looked in the direction she was pointing. It was a yellow bug with something like a horn on its head.

"It's a Weedle," Aaron said.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the bug.

"Weedle. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurts," the Pokédex said.

"A stinger, huh?" Ash repeated. "Now there's a challenge."

"Why are you so excited about a bug with a stinger? Make it go away!" Misty cried.

"You've got to be kidding. You can't possibly expect a great Pokémon trainer like me to let a Weede escape. I'm gonna catch it," Ash said as we went to grab a PokéBall, but then stopped. "Oh. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have to weaken a Pokémon before you can capture it."

Aaron just sweatdropped and had a blank stare as he noticed Ash _just_ realized this fact.

'_There's no way he can be this stupid, is there?_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Let's go, Pikachu," Ash said and turned towards his Pokémon.

Pikachu was, strangely, asleep in a small sleeping bag and just rolled over to its side, causing the three trainers to almost fall over.

"Uh… taking a nap, huh?" Ash said as he scratched the back of his head but then he grabbed two PokéBalls from his belt. "Ok, snooze, you lose. There's still Pidgeotto and Metapod to do the job, and they give me the respect I deserve."

"You deserve to have your head examined," Misty said.

Aaron just tilted his head, confused. Then he noticed the Weedle had moved from it's spot.

"Uh… Misty?" Aaron said.

"What is it?" Misty asked.

Aaron just pointed towards her feet and she looked down to see the Weedle seemed to try climbing up her leg. Misty just completely froze, but ran away as fast as she could mere seconds later, kicking the Weedle over in the process.

"Don't just stand there, catch it!" Misty yelled as she continued to run.

"Have no fear. Ash is here!" Ash said.

Ash then turned his hat around and threw a PokéBall.

"Pidgeotto! I choose you!" Ash called out.

The ball opened and a flash of light poured out, materializing into Pidgeotto. The bird Pokémon stood in front of the Weedle with its wings spread.

"Pidgeotto, Gust attack!" Ash called out.

"Pidgeooo," Pidgeotto said as it started flapping its wings, sending the Weedle flying back.

The bird Pokémon then flew up and then turned around to attack Weedle again and continued this pattern of attack.

"Ha! That's the way to do it!" Ash cheered on his Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Misty had started walking again, but was far from Ash and Aaron.

"This whole forest is crawling with slimy, disgusting Pokémon. I wish they'd all just bug off!" Misty said to herself.

But then Misty heard a sound from behind her and the next thing she saw was someone jumping at her with a sword.

"HIYA!" the boy yelled as he landed on the ground and stopping his sword mere inches from her nose.

The boy was wearing a samurai helmet, chest piece, and what appeared to be a skirt.

"Greetings, oh, shrieking maiden. Are you by chance the Pokémon trainer who comes from Pallet?" the boy asked.

"I--no, that's not me," Misty said as she shook her head, fear evident in her voice.

"Alas. My search continues," the boy said as he sheathed his blade and turned his back to Misty. "I advise you to refrain from further shrieking while passing through this forest, unless your goal is to attract a horde of Beedrills."

The boy then walked away from Misty and she just fell to her knees as she watched his walk away.

"What a weird kid. I wonder why he'd be looking for a Pokémon trainer from--" Misty started, but stopped herself as she figured it out. "Huh? That's Ash!"

Misty then looked around and saw that she was alone.

"Oh no, and Aaron's in trouble too!" Misty realized when she didn't see her childhood friend anywhere around.

Back with Ash, Pidgeotto was still battling Weedle and made a charge at the bug. The Weedle pulled itself back and then jumped at Pidgeotto, hoping to hit it with its stinger.

"Pidgeotto, watch out for its Poison Sting!" Ash warned his Pokémon.

The bird Pokémon then flew up just as the Weedle was close enough. Luckily Pidgeotto wasn't hit.

"Ha! Nice work!" Ash cheered.

Pidgeotto flew up and turned around, about to dive down at the Weedle again, striking the bug with its wing and sending to rolling back.

"Ok, here we go," Ash said as he grabbed an empty PokéBall. "Weedle, I've got you now."

Aaron just stood there as he watched the battle until he heard a twig snap behind him. He turned around to see what was the cause of the noise.

"Are you a Pokémon trainer from Pallet?" the boy in samurai armor asked Aaron.

"No, I'm not from Pallet," Aaron answered.

The boy in armor just walked past Aaron and walked up to Ash.

"Greetings. Am I addressing the Pokémon trainer who comes from Pallet?" the boy asked.

"I'm a Pokémon trainer from Pallet, but I'm a little busy," Ash answered.

"I have found you at last," the boy said as he reached for his katana and slowly removed it from its sheath.

"Ash! Aaron!" Misty yelled out as she ran back towards her two friends.

"Hm?" Aaron wondered as he turned around to see Misty running to them.

Ash turned around as well, but saw the boy who was talking to him earlier swing his sword downward at him. Aaron turned around to face the armored boy and reached for a PokéBall as soon as he saw the sword. Once again, the samurai boy stopped his sword mere inched from Ash's nose, causing him to back away a bit and Aaron let go of his PokéBall.

"That sword doesn't scare me. There's no way you're stealing my Pokémon," Ash stated.

Aaron just raised an eyebrow and both he and Misty walked up to Ash to find out what was going on.

"I am no Pokémon thief," the boy said.

"Who are you then?" Misty asked.

"I am Samurai," the boy said, earning a sweatdrop from Aaron, and the boy slightly bent the blade of his katana. "I am also shrewd, fearless, and completely invincible in combat."

The boy then sheathed his sword.

"I have been searching the forest for you," the boy said.

"What do you want from me?" Ash asked.

"A Pokémon match!" the boy said as he held out a PokéBall. "Let us see who triumphs."

The four trainers just stood there as the samurai kid declared his challenge.

"Pika?" Pikachu said as it tilted its head, wondering what the heck was going on.

"On, no," Ash said as he finally realized he forgot something and he turned around. "I forgot about Weedle!"

Aaron just hit himself in the face, wondering how anyone could have such a bad attention span. Ash looked back at where the Weedle was and noticed it wasn't there anymore. Instead it was slowly crawling away.

"I'll get it," Ash said as he held the empty PokéBall. "PokéBall… go!"

Ash threw the ball, but he was too late and the ball hit a tree as Weedle disappeared behind it.

"Aww…" Ash said in disappointment.

Pidgeotto hovered above the trainers and Ash grabbed its PokéBall.

"Pidgeotto, return!" Ash called out, returning the bird Pokémon to the confines of its ball, then he turned around to face the samurai boy. "That Weedle only got away because you mixed me up."

"Don't blame your failure on me. Your Pokémon handling is dimwitted and clumsy," the boy said.

"What do you know about Pokémon?" Ash argued. "I bet I could beat you in a Pokémon match blindfolded."

"There is one way to find out," the samurai said as he held up a PokéBall.

"Pikachu," the yellow mouse said as it blinked.

"Pidgeotto, do your stuff!" Ash said as he threw his PokéBall.

The ball opened once more and the bird Pokémon reappeared, but it appeared exhausted and was sprawled on the ground.

"Uh-oh," Ash said.

"Ash, don't you know you have to let your Pokémon rest once in a while?" Misty asked,

"I guess he doesn't," Aaron said, then looked at Misty. "Is he really this stupid?"

Misty just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I, uh…" Ash started, but had no idea what exactly to say.

"Only a novice goes into battle with a pooped-out Pokémon. Your blunder will cost you dearly!" the boy said as he threw his own PokéBall. "Pinsir… Assume battle mode!"

The ball opened up, releasing a large brown Pokémon with giant horn on the sides of its head.

"Whoa… he's got a Pinsir," Ash said to himself as he grabbed his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokémon.

"Pinsir. This fearsome Pokémon uses its powerful claws to put the squeeze on its opponents," the Pokédex said.

"That Pinsir looks pretty tough, but Pidgeotto can beat it," Ash said.

'_True, Pidgeotto would have the advantage. But as tired as it is, I doubt it'll last very long,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Pidgeotto, Sand Attack!" Ash ordered his Pokémon.

Pidgeotto started flapping its wings, sending sand right at Pinsir and making it into a bit of a tornado of sand. But Pinsir didn't seem effected by the attack.

"That's child's play! Pinsir, Tackle it!" the samurai yelled out.

Pinsir ran through the whirlwind of sand and smashed into Pidgeotto, sending it flying backwards and knocking it out.

"Ha ha ha! Your Pokémon is beaten!" the samurai cheered in victory.

"Oh, no! Pidgeotto, return!" Ash called back his Pokémon, returning it to the safety of its ball.

"Novice, are you ready to surrender?" the samurai taunted.

"No way! I'm just warming up," Ash said as he threw another PokéBall. "Metapod, I choose you now."

Ash's next Pokémon materialized from within the ball and just stayed there, though it's not like it had much choice since it didn't have any legs.

"Watch and weep as Pinsir crushes your Metapod in half!" the samurai said.

"No!" Ash said as an image of Pinsir cutting Metapod in half appeared in his head. "Those claws!"

"Ash?" Misty said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he turned to face Misty and Aaron.

"Call it back to its ball!" Aaron told him.

"Not even a bug deserves this," Misty said.

"This match is already won!" the samurai declared.

Pinsir charged at Metapod, ready to grab it in the horn on its head.

"Metapod, Harden!" Ash told his Pokémon. "Now!"

Metapod started to glow a brighter shade of green just as Pinsir was about to grab it. Once Pinsir got a hold of it, the brown bug started to squeeze its horn against Metapod in an attempt to break it in half. However, due to Metapod using Harden, the only thing Pinsir broke were it own horns, which caused the brown bug to drop Metapod.

"It worked," Misty said in surprise.

"So, now who's the novice?" Ash taunted his opponent.

"Pinsir, return!" the samurai said, recalling his Pokémon and then grabbing another ball. "Clever. Quite clever. PokéBall, go!"

The samurai threw his second ball, but Aaron's eyes widened a bit when the samurai didn't say the name of his Pokémon. The ball opened and Ash, Misty and Aaron just watched to see what Pokémon was sent out. All their eyes widened as they saw who their opponent was.

"Metapod," Ash said.

Now Ash's Metapod was standing in front of the samurai's Metapod.

"Something tells me this'll be a long battle," Aaron said to himself.

"Metapod, Harden, like his," the samurai commanded.

"Maximum hardness, Metapod," Ash told his Pokémon.

Both Metapod started to glow as their shell became harder. Both Ash and the samurai appeared to be straining themselves and Aaron just let out a quiet sigh. Time began to pass by slowly.

"More power, Metapod!" Ash said, exhaustion in his voice. "Samurai's is weakening."

Misty had, by some mysterious event, set up two beach chairs and a white table with a drink. Misty was sitting on one of the chairs now wearing some kind of red bikini and black sunglasses. Pikachu rested on the other chair while Aaron just sat against a tree and enjoyed the shade.

"Harder! You're the stronger Metapod!" the samurai declared in an attempt to boost his Pokémon's morale.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, Jessie and James of Team Rocket were carrying what seemed like a cardboard van over them as they walked through the forest with Meowth rest on the roof.

"I'm tired," James complained.

"James, stop whining," Jessie said in annoyance.

"But, Jessie, what's the point of dragging this tank around?" James started to wonder, though still complaining.

"To protect us from Beedrills. Ever been stung by one? It hurts," Jessie said, still rather annoyed.

"Hey, down there, quit chattering. Get a move one," Meowth said from the roof of the cardboard box.

"What are you doing up there?" Jessie asked, now annoyed at Meowth.

"Why don't you come help us?" James asked, also annoyed at Meowth.

"Wish I could, but I'm riding lookout," Meowth said as he rested on the roof again.

"Well, lookout for this!" Jessie said as both she and James quickly shifted the cardboard cutout, throwing Meowth off the roof.

"Hey, wait a second. Come back!" Meowth called to them as he ran after the two humans. "Meowth!"

Back with Ash and the others, Ash and the samurai were still in the middle of their "battle" as they started to sweat from the heat.

"A little more!" Ash told his Metapod.

"Metapod… full power!" the samurai said.

"We could be stuck in this forest for the rest of our lives," Misty said and Aaron nodded in agreement. "Boys can be so stubborn."

The last comment earned a sweatdrop from Aaron. Ash and the samurai continued to strain themselves until the samurai fell over to his side and Ash fell backwards.

"Don't… give… up…" Ash gritted between his teeth.

"You two are more hardheaded than your Metapods!" Misty yelled at the two of them while Aaron just stood back.

Misty and Aaron then started to hear a buzzing sound draw closer to them.

"Huh?" Misty wondered.

The buzzing grew louder, apparently getting closer and closer.

"That can't be good," Aaron said.

"What's that noise?" Misty asked.

"A Beedrill swarm approaches. Our match must end. Metapod, return!" the samurai said as he recalled his Metapod.

Then a huge swarm of Beedrills could be seen over the trees heading right for the four of them.

"Beedrill swarm," Ash said to himself and pointed his Pokédex at the bugs.

"Beedrill. This Pokémon is the evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous," the machine said.

"The Weedle that got away from you has informed the rest of its kind. Good day," the samurai said as he ran off.

"Uh…" was all Ash said as he dumbly watched the samurai make his escape.

"Ash, look out!" Aaron said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

One of the Beedrill took this opportunity to dive down and snatch Ash's Metapod and carry it off.

"Metapod, return now!" Ash called out as he attempted to return his Pokémon, but the Beedrill evaded the red beam and made its escape with Metapod. "Oh, no! It got away!"

Another Beedrill dove to attack Ash, but Pikachu jumped in the way and released a Thundershock attack, hitting the Beedrill, but also hitting Ash. The Beedrill slowly flew away as Ash just swayed back and forth from the shock of the attack.

"Come on! Let's move it!" Misty said as she grabbed Ash by his arm and started pull him away with Aaron following right behind them.

As the three of them ran, four if you include Pikachu, the swarm of Beedrill chased after them.

"But… Metapod…" Ash said to himself, worrying about what happened to his Pokémon.

As they ran, the three trainers and Pikachu caught up to the samurai, who was still running for him life.

"They're gaining on us," Misty said, though a bit out of breath.

They then followed the samurai as he jumped through a bush and the Beedrill swarm just flew right by them. They all let out a sigh.

"That was a close one," Aaron said.

"Huh?" Ash said as he looked ahead and saw a large tree with several of something either hanging from it or attached to its trunk.

"A whole hive of Kakunas," the samurai said quietly.

"This isn't good," Aaron said quietly.

Misty was just about to scream in fear when Aaron gently put his hand over her mouth.

"Shh. We don't want them to know we're here," Aaron said quietly to his old friend.

Misty slowly nodded and Aaron pulled his hand away from her. Ash then pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at one of the Kakuna.

"Kakuna-- A transitional stage between Weedle and Beedrill. Kakunas remain inactive until they evolve into deadly Beedrills and hatch," the Pokédex said.

Ash looked down the trunk of the tree and noticed something green before realizing what it was.

"Hey, over there, it's Metapod!" Ash shouted, but was quickly pulled down by Aaron while Misty put her hand over his mouth.

"Keep your voice down," Misty said quietly.

One of the Kakuna then looked over at where the four trainers were, all of who were sitting there quietly, wondering what's going to happen.

"We should probably get going," Aaron said quietly, slowly backing away.

The Kakuna's shell started to crack, followed by several others. A light poured from the cracks of each Kakuna and the four trainers quietly gasped at what was happening. Beedrills slowly started to crawl out of the Kakuna shells.

"Beedrills…" Misty said quietly.

"They've evolved," Aaron said.

The newly evolved Beedrills flew up in front of the four trainers, all of who quickly ran for it as fast as they could with a new swarm of Beedrills chasing after them. Eventually they all spotted some kind of building made out of wood.

"What's that?" Aaron asked, pointing out the small building.

"My cabin! I think we can make it!" the samurai shouted, answering Aaron's question.

The four of them ran towards the cabin as Aaron and the samurai pushed the door open and then quickly slammed it shut behind them once Ash, Misty and Pikachu got inside. Some of the Beedrill flew right into the door, stingers first, while Ash, Misty, Aaron and the samurai were as far back into the cabin as they could get. The Beedrills then pulled their stingers out of the door and just seemed to be flying around the wooden building.

"Whew!" Ash sighed in relief. "That was close."

The samurai boy then took off his armor and put it on the table, now wearing just shorts and a shirt, and let out a sigh.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, novice," the boy said, directing his attention to Ash. "Your letting that Weedle escape almost cost our lives."

This infuriated Ash and he quickly stood up.

"Take back that novice crack," Ash demanded.

"I do take it back, because not even a novice would abandon his own Pokémon as you did," the boy stated bluntly.

Ash then looked away from the boy.

"I tried to save Metapod," Ash said quietly.

"Your Metapod will pay for its trainer's inexperience. The other trainers from Pallet would never have been so irresponsible," the boy stated.

"Other trainers from Pallet?" Ash asked. "Have you fought Pokémon matches against Gary and the others?"

Aaron turned to look at Misty to see if she knew what Ash was going on about, but she just shrugged her shoulders since Ash didn't tell her about the other Pallet Town trainers.

"Ahh, there were three spectacular matches. Each more challenging than the last. Those trainers really knew how to raise Pokémon. Even though I was defeated all three times, I was inspired to redouble my own training," the boy answered as he remembered his fights against the other three trainers from Pallet. "I have been eagerly preparing for that day when I would beat the next Pokémon trainer from Pallet."

Misty then stood up and Aaron stood with her.

"So that's why you've been waiting around for Ash to show up," Misty realized.

"Compared to those other three, novice here is a joke," the boy stated, earning a grunt of irritation from Ash.

That night, all four of them slept in the cabin for fear of being attacked by more Beedrill, though Misty for fear of bugs crawling up to her in her sleep. Though Ash was the only one awake as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Metapod," Ash said quietly to himself.

The following morning, Ash went back to the tree by himself and saw the Beedrill just sitting in the tree, most likely asleep. Metapod was still right where it was at the base of the tree. Ash slowly and quickly crawled towards the tree.

"Hmm," Ash said to himself as he checked the area, but then let out a quiet yell of pain as he felt something hit the back of his head.

"Do you know what Meowth's favorite game is?" Meowth asked Ash after jumped on his head.

"Get off!" Ash said as Meowth jumped off his head and Ash slowly got up, only to be scratched across the face.

"Scratch and sniffle," Meowth said.

Ash then put his hands on his face as he yelled in pain.

"Guess who," said a male voice, which caused Ash to stop yelling in pain.

Ash turned in the direction of the voice and saw Jessie and James on top of a boulder.

"Prepare for trouble," Jessie said.

"And make it double," James said.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce--"

"No, not again. Not now!" Ash said, interrupting Team Rocket's motto, causing Jessie to scrunch up her face.

"Grr. Never interrupt the Team Rocket motto," Jessie said.

"But the Beedrill--" Ash started, but was cut off but Jessie clearing her throat and continuing from where she left off.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie"

"James"

"Keep it down before you wake up the Beedrills," Ash said quietly.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth… that's right!" Meowth said, jumping in for his line of the motto.

Two small explosions then went off behind Jessie and James. This, however, caused the Beedrills in the tree to wake up. The bug Pokémon started to fly out of the tree.

"Aah!" Ash yelled in fear now that the Beedrill were awake.

"Little boy, why don't you hand give us your Pikachu? There's no use trying to resist us, so be smart and hand over the Pokémon," Jessie demanded.

"I don't have Pikachu with me. And even if I did, I'd never let you take it!" Ash shouted to Jessie and James before running towards the tree of Beedrills.

"Come back here," Jessie and James said at the same time as they jumped down from the boulder.

"If I make it past the Beedrills, maybe they'll dive-bomb Team Rocket," Ash said to himself as he kept running.

Jessie and James had also started to run as they gave chase to Ash. The Beedrill sped down towards the humans with their stingers ready. Just as the bug Pokémon were close enough, Ash dove under them and rolled behind them, making them fly towards Jessie and James. The two of them stopped in their tracks as they saw the Beedrills in front of them.

"The tank will surely come in handy now," Jessie said.

"It was worth the struggle dragging it here," James said as he lifted up the cardboard box.

However, Weedles had already started to eat at the box.

"Meowth! They're eating the tank," Meowth shouted.

"Well, we made it from paper to reduce the weight," James admitted.

"Who knew?" Jessie said.

"Numbskulls!" Meowth yelled at them.

Jessie, James and Meowth then ran for it as the Beedrills gave chase. Ash then walked over towards Metapod and kneeled in front of his Pokémon.

"So there you are," Ash said as he pulled out his Pokémon's PokéBall. "Here. Into the PokéBall, Metapod."

Metapod just shook itself from side to side as if to say "no".

"Metapod…" was all Ash said as he stood up.

But then Ash heard a buzzing sound and turned to see a Beedrill heading right for him and Metapod.

"Let's go!" Ash said as he grabbed Metapod and made a run for it. "I didn't abandon you, Metapod. I just got sidetracked. It was all Samurai's fault."

But then Ash tripped and accidentally threw Metapod. The Pokémon rolled along the ground until it stopped.

"No, it wasn't Samurai's fault," Ash said as he held himself up. "It was my fault. If I was a better Pokémon trainer, I'd stop making all these excuses. From now on, I swear I'll never run away and leave my friends behind again. No more excuses."

Ash then got up and walked over to Metapod to pick it up, but then heard the buzzing sound behind him again and turned around to see the Beedrill. The bug Pokémon was about to attack Ash when Misty, Aaron and the samurai showed up with some kind of net around them, supposedly to protect them from Beedrills.

"Ash!" Misty called out.

"Look out!" Aaron shouted.

"That's its Twineedle Attack!" the samurai shouted.

As the Beedrill closed in, Metapod flipped itself up to attack the Beedrill. Metapod ended up breaking one of the Beedrill's arm stingers, making the Beedrill fly away in pain. Ash caught Metapod before it hit the ground.

"Metapod!" Ash said to his Pokémon as he noticed the cut in its shell. "Are you hurt? Are you okay, Metapod?"

The other three trainers walked towards Ash and Metapod to check on them. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared from the wound and the three trainers in the net watched in amazement. From inside Metapod's shell, the butterfly-like Pokémon slowly climbed out and then flew into the air.

"Free! Free!" the Pokémon said at it flew around above Ash's head. "Free! Free!"

"Butterfree," was all Ash said as he looked at his new Pokémon in awe.

"Oh, it's so beautiful," Misty said.

"I guess this would be one bug that you're not scared of, am I right Misty?" Aaron asked, only to receive a light slap on his arm, to which he just chuckled.

Ash then pointed his Pokédex at his new Butterfree.

"Butterfree-- One week after Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it again evolves into Butterfree," the Pokédex said as Butterfree flew around.

Unfortunately, a swarm of Beedrill appeared in the distance and flew towards the group.

"Here come the other Beedrills!" Misty yelled.

Butterfree then hovered beside Ash.

"Butterfree!" Ash said.

The butterfly Pokémon then started talking in its language and Ash seemed to know what it was saying.

"Yeah. Ok! Butterfree, knock them out with your Sleep Powder!" Ash told his Pokémon as he pointed at the Beedrills.

Butterfree then flew towards and above the Beedrill swarm, flapping its wings and releasing a blue powder-like substance above them. As the Beedrills flew under the powder, they instantly fell to the ground.

"Yay! You put all of them to sleep!" Ash cheered, congratulating his Pokémon, then he started jumping in the air as he continued to cheer. "Butterfree, you're the best!"

"You were able to handle your Butterfree so well just after it evolved. Most impressive," the samurai congratulated as Ash continued to cheer.

Once finished, the four of them headed towards the exit of the forest.

"This trail will lead you to Pewter City," the samurai told Ash, Misty and Aaron.

"That's great. But before we leave you, Samurai, we still have to finish our match," Ash said.

"Compared with you, my friend, I am the novice. But I will keep perfecting my technique and one day, we will meet again," the samurai said.

"I'm sure it will be a most spectacular match," Ash agreed.

"That is guaranteed," the samurai said.

"Just promise not to match Metapod versus Metapod again," Misty said.

"I agree with you, Misty," Aaron said with a slight chuckle.

"Until then, Samurai," Ash said as he waved goodbye while leaving with Misty and Aaron.

"See ya," Misty said as she waved farewell.

"Good luck, Samurai!" Aaron said.

"Farewell," the samurai said as he watched the three trainers head for Pewter City.

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Jessie, James and Meowth were in an attempted Kakuna disguise and hung from the tree.

"Do you have any more bright ideas?" James said to Jessie.

"Well, unlike you, at least I have ideas," Jessie said.

"Yeah, and they're all bad," Meowth said.

"Who asked you?" Jessie shouted, which caused the Beedrills to wake up.

"Uh-oh," James said.

"Oh, no!" Jessie yelled.

The two them, as well as Meowth, started to yell in pain from the Beedrill's stingers.

* * *

**Me: Well, what did you think?**

**Ash: There's someone else join us now?**

***Ash and I look over to see Misty and Aaron just talking and catching up***

**Me: Don't worry, Ash. This one's necessary. Otherwise it wouldn't be a fanfic.**

**Ash: I guess. I just wonder if he's any good at battles.**

**Me: You'll just have to wait and see.**

**Me & Ash: Please R&R**


	2. Showdown In Pewter City

**Me: Alright, time for the next one.**

**Ash: Already? But didn't you just put the first one up yesterday?**

**Me: I have the day off today, so I had some free time.**

**Ash: I see.**

***Aaron and Misty are still talking to each other***

**Ash: Geez, won't those two ever shut up?**

**Me: They're just friends catching up. Besides, after this one I'm sure they'll have caught up.**

**Ash: I hope so. Hearing them talk all day is driving me crazy.**

**Me: Right. So Ash, why don't you give out the disclaimer?**

**Ash: Huh? Why me?**

**Me: It's my fanfic and you're a character in it. So if I say you give the disclaimer, you give the disclaimer.**

**Ash: *whining* But Aaron did it last time.**

**Me: That's because he volunteered. I didn't force him to do it, he wanted to.**

**Ash: Fine. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon. **

* * *

-Chapter 2: Episode 5: Showdown In Pewter City-

After leaving Viridian Forest, Ash, Misty and Aaron finally arrived at Pewter City.

"Huh? Oh!" Ash exclaimed and ran ahead, standing on a rock to have a look at the city, and both Misty and Aaron ran after him.

"Yay, Pewter City!" Misty said, glad they finally got out of the forest and to their destination.

"Whew! For a while there, I thought I was gonna be in this forest for the rest of my life," Ash sighed in relief as he sat on the rock.

Aaron just looked at the both of them and smirked at how glad they were to reach civilization.

"Pewter City is gray, the color of stone. This town has always been famous for stone," the trio heard a voice say.

All three of them looked down the small ledge and saw a man wearing a red toque sitting on the ground.

"Huh? What the-- Who's this old guy?" Ash wondered.

"Never met him," Misty said.

"Me neither," Aaron replied.

"The name's Flint. And you're sitting on some of my merchandise, young man," the man answered.

"Oh, sorry!" Ash apologized and quickly stood up, not wanting to get into trouble.

'_What merchandise? It's just a rock,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Uh, you mean you sell rocks?" Ash asked.

"They're Pewter City souvenirs. Wanna buy some?" Flint said.

"If we wanted a rock, wouldn't we just have to pick one up of the ground?" Aaron said.

"Hey, I'm trying to make a living," Flint said. "So, want to buy some?"

"No, thanks. I'm traveling, trying to become a Pokémon trainer," Ash answered.

"Uh-huh," Flint said in understanding, then looked over at Ash's Pikachu, which sighed in exhaustion. "Well, your Pokémon sure looks worn out. Why don't you follow me? I'll show you to the Pokémon Center."

Flint stood up and walked towards the Pokémon Center.

"See? Looks can be deceiving. He's a nice guy," Ash said.

"Are you sure?" Misty asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself, Misty," Aaron said as he folded his arms.

"By the way, that'll be a $2.00 charge for resting on my rocks," Flint said as he came back and held out his hand for the money.

This caused Ash, Misty and Aaron to do an anime-style fall **(A/N: You know, those kinds of falls that seem to happen randomly in an anime when someone makes a stupid comment or something.)**.

Upon arriving at the Pokémon Center, Ash put Pikachu and his two PokéBalls, which contained Pidgeotto and Butterfree onto a tray.

"Please, revitalize my Pokémon," Ash asked as he pushed the tray towards the Nurse Joy at the counter.

"Sure. Right away, Ash," the Nurse Joy said.

"Huh? Nurse Joy?" Ash wondered as he finally realized who he was handing his Pokémon to.

"Yes, I'm Nurse Joy," the nurse answered.

"Uh, but this isn't Viridian City, this is Pewter City," Ash said as he thought against it.

"Doesn't he realize that every Pokémon Center is run by a Nurse Joy?" Aaron wondered as he and Misty were sitting away from Ash.

"Apparently not," Misty sighed.

"The Joy in Viridian City is my little sister. I'm the older Joy," the Nurse Joy explained. "I've heard nice things about you. Very nice."

"Uh, thank you," Ash said.

"I guess she hadn't heard about him blowing up the Pokémon Center in Viridian City," Misty said.

"He did what?!" Aaron asked in shock.

"Yeah. Two people from a group called Team Rocket were attacking the Pokémon Center. Ash used my broken bike to power up his Pikachu and had it unleash a Thundershock attack, which ended up destroying most of the building," Misty explained.

"Geez, seems like you already had more than enough excitement," Aaron said.

"Somehow I doubt it. Those two appeared again and were after his Pikachu. No doubt they'll keep going after him for it," Misty stated.

"And you're really going to go through that kind of danger just so he can repay you for your bike?" Aaron wondered.

"Are you saying my bike's not worth it?!" Misty yelled at Aaron.

"No, not at all," Aaron said, waving his arms defensively, but then he noticed a poster on the wall. "Uh oh."

"Huh? What is it?" Misty wondered.

Aaron stood up and walked over to the poster.

"Great. I was hoping this wouldn't be what I thought it was," Aaron said, letting out a sigh.

"What is it, Aaron?" Misty asked as she walked up to him.

"Take a look at this," Aaron said, pointing at the poster.

Misty looked at the piece of paper that had gotten Aaron's attention and suddenly she had a distasteful look on her face.

"Guess we'd better hope Ash doesn't see this," Aaron said, earning a nod from Misty.

"Hey guys, what are you looking at?" Ash asked as he walked over to them, causing Aaron and Misty to nearly jump out of their skin.

Aaron and Misty just looked at each other and Ash looked at the poster.

"The Pokémon League Regional Championships," Ash read aloud, then suddenly got psyched. "All right!"

Aaron and Misty just let out a sigh and decided to play along.

"Ha!" Misty scoffed.

"Huh? What's the matter?" Ash asked.

"To compete in the regional championships, you need to beat Gym Trainers from different town and get their badges as proof," Aaron explained.

"Can _you_ do that?" Misty asked Ash.

"Of course I can," Ash said in determination.

"Ha ha ha. Don't tell me you plan on challenging Brock, the Pewter City Gym eader," Flint said as he walked up to the three trainers.

"Of course I do," Ash answered. "As soon as Pikachu and my other Pokémon are better, I'll have no problem. Take me to this "Brock's" gym. I'll beat him."

"Ha ha ha. _You'll_ beat _him_. Ha ha ha ha," Flint laughed as he walked away.

The three trainers just looked at each other, though Misty had a worried look on her face when she looked at Aaron. He just gave her a reassuring look.

"Thanks, Aaron," Misty said quietly.

The three of them then decided to go somewhere to get something to eat.

"Ooh, that Flint. Trying to make a fool out of me," Ash said as he ate.

'_Who needs to try?_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Do you really think you can win?" Misty asked Ash. "Gym Leaders are different from your everyday Pokémon trainer. They're much, much tougher."

Ash just looked at Misty.

"I'll tell you what, Ash. If you ask me really nicely, I'll help you out," Misty said in a sing-song voice.

"I don't need any help," Ash said, his voice muffled since he was eating.

"Uhh! Is that so? Fine with me," Misty said as she got up. "There's no way you'll beat Brock in the Pewter City Gym. Huh!"

Misty then walked off, but Ash kept eating.

"You know, you shouldn't refuse an offer from someone willing to help," Aaron said.

"Who asked you?" Ash asked.

"Alright, I guess I'll go too," Aaron said as he stood up and followed Misty out of the building.

Ash just sat there and watched them leave, but then noticed the bill.

"Hey, you can't leave me with the bill! Come back here!" Ash shouted to Misty and Aaron, but they had already walked out of the building.

"He can be so stubborn sometimes," Misty said.

"And he's usually like this?" Aaron asked.

"Usually," Misty answered.

"Well, it doesn't seem like there's anything we can do. If he wants to get beaten, then he's more than welcome to in my book," Aaron said.

"Hang on, did you ask him if he wanted help?" Misty asked.

"Sort of. I just said he shouldn't refuse an offer of help. But he basically told me to get lost," Aaron said.

"He can be so rude at times," Misty said as the two of them went back to the Pokémon Center.

Ash arrived at the Pokémon Center after he ended up having to pay for the bill. He walked up to the from counter and got his three Pokémon back.

"Well, Ash, no more waiting. Pikachu and your other Pokémon are all back to normal," Nurse Joy said.

"Oh, that's great," Ash thanked her as he took his PokéBalls back and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "All right."

Ash then walked out of the Pokémon Center and headed for the Pewter City gym while Misty and Aaron just watched him leave.

"I can't believe he's still going through with it," Aaron said.

"He's just too stubborn to accept help," Misty said. "Anyway, thanks for not mentioning Cerulean City."

"No problem, Misty. I saw you had a problem with it. But mind if I ask why?" Aaron asked.

"It's nothing really. I got into an argument with my sisters and then said that I was leaving and wouldn't be back until I became a great Water Pokémon trainer," Misty answered.

"And you're worried about what they'd think if you showed up so soon, right?" Aaron asked, getting a nod from Misty. "You shouldn't worry about something like that. You could always make up an excuse, like you got sidetracked and ended up going back to Cerulean. Or you could tell the truth and say it's because you're traveling with Ash for the bike and he wanted to go to Cerulean."

"Thanks, Aaron. But I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Misty said.

The two of them just continued to talk a bit while Ash went for his battle at the Pewter City gym, which he was now standing in front of.

"So this is Pewter Gym?" Ash wondered as he looked up at the building that seemed to be made completely out of stone, though he apparently didn't see the words "Pewter Gym" carved on the building. "All right then."

Ash opened the heavy doors and walked in.

"Hello!" Ash shouted, his voice echoing through the building.

He then walked further into the building and looked around, but could barely see anything in the darkness.

"Who goes there?" a calm voice asked.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he turned in the direction of the voice and a light came on, showing a young man sitting on a rock. "Uhh! So, you must be Brock. I'm Ash from Pallet Town. I challenge you."

"Is this your first gym match?" Brock asked calmly.

"Um…" was all Ash could really answer with.

"A gym match is different from other battles. This match is for Pokémon League authorization. There are special rules," Brock explained.

"Um, what do you mean by special rules?" Ash asked.

"We will use two Pokémon each. Understood?" Brock replied as he stood up.

"Oh!" Ash sighed.

"How long have you been with that Pokémon?" Brock asked as he looked at Pikachu.

"Uhm about two weeks, I guess," Ash assumed.

"Yes, your Pokémon is in its cutest stage," Brock said, earning a happy response from Pikachu. "It can't win."

"I'll worry about my Pokémon, and you worry about yours, all right?" Ash said.

"Suit yourself. As Gym Leader, I have to accept every challenge, so let's just get this over with," Brock said as he snapped his fingers.

The rest of the lights in the gym turned on and two large doors from each side of the building opened up. From in the two doors, half of a battlefield moved in towards the center from each side, threatening to crush Ash and Pikachu between them. Seeing this, the two of them ran back towards the gym's entrance to avoid being squished. Brock then jumped down the small set of stairs he was standing on and to his side of the battlefield, holding up a PokéBall.

"Let the match begin," Brock said.

"All right," Ash said as he took off his backpack and looked down at his little yellow Pokémon. "Ok, Pikachu, I choose you, buddy."

"Pikachu," the electric mouse said in agreement and ran onto the battlefield.

"Onix, go!" Brock called out as he threw his PokéBall.

The ball landed on the battlefield and opened up, releasing a white light that materialized into a giant snake Pokémon that appeared to be made out of boulders. The Rock Snake Pokémon looked down at Pikachu and roared, causing the little mouse to stop in its tracks and run back towards Ash. Pikachu climbed up Ash's leg and attempted to get another Pokémon of Ash's belt when Ash grabbed the yellow mouse off of him.

"Hey, this is your battle, Pikachu, not Pidgeotto's," Ash said as he put Pikachu back on the floor and gently pushed the mouse forward. "Go."

Pikachu then looked up at Ash, who only nodded, so the little mouse walked slowly towards Onix.

"Onix, Tackle attack!" Brock ordered his Pokémon.

The giant Pokémon dove at Pikachu, who quickly ran to avoid being hit as Onix crashed its head into the ground. Seeing the mouse escaping, Onix grabbed it with its tail and started to squeeze the rodent.

"Onix, Bind it now!" Brock told his Pokémon.

Onix just continued to squeeze Pikachu with its tail, the little mouse unable to move.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash told the mouse.

"Pi… Ka!" Pikachu shouted, releasing sparks of electricity from its red cheeks. However, Onix didn't seem to be fazed by the attack.

"You haven't raised it very well. Such a weak electric attack can't hurt Onix," Brock said as Pikachu continued to have to life squeezed out of it.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash called out as he held out Pikachu's PokéBall.

The red light shot out from the ball, but just hit Onix's tail, making it impossible for Pikachu to be called back.

"It's being blocked. I-I can't bring it back," Ash said to himself as he watched Onix's strength crush his Pokémon, but then the hat-wearing boy finally had enough. "Cut it out!"

"Do you surrender?" Brock asked.

"I-I do," Ash answered.

A bell went off, signaling the end of the match. Ash then walked back out of the gym as he carried Pikachu in his arms when he suddenly saw Flint standing in front of him.

"Come with me," was all Flint said as he walked away from Ash.

The two of them walked back towards the Pokémon Center, but Flint took him right past it. Misty and Aaron saw this and both looked at each other.

"Looks like Ash didn't win," Aaron said.

"Yeah. And Pikachu looked really hurt," Misty added.

"Makes me wonder why they're not bringing it here to get healed first," Aaron said.

"I don't know. But I think I'm going to ask Ash again if he wants to use one of my Pokémon," Misty said.

"Maybe he'll listen since he was beaten," Aaron said, earning a nod from Misty as she got up and left the Pokémon Center.

Misty ended up losing sight of Ash and Flint and waited for them where she last saw them. Unfortunately, she didn't see them for the few hours she waited there and just went back into the Pokémon Center and sat down with Aaron again.

"What was his answer this time?" Aaron asked.

"I lost sight of them. I tried waiting but I didn't spot them. So I guess I'll just wait here until they walk by again," Misty said.

'_She seems driven to see Ash win. If he refuses her help, I may end up having to do something,_' Aaron thought to himself.

Some time passed and Misty and Aaron saw Ash and Flint walk by again, but go off in a completely different direction.

"Alright, I'm going to go ask him. I'll be back once I get an answer from him," Misty said as she stood up.

"Sure thing. Just try not to lose your temper if he tells you to get lost," Aaron said as he watched her leave the building.

Misty followed Ash and Flint to what appeared to be a small water mill, though overheard it's sort of a hydroelectric plant. She then watched as Ash started walking on the wheel in order to power-up Pikachu, who was inside the small building and hooked up to a machine by Flint.

"Hey, Ash," Misty said as she walked up to Ash, who turned his head to look at her. "Wouldn't it be a lot better to just ask me for help instead of going with this crazy power plan of yours?"

"Forget it. I'll win without your help," Ash answered rudely.

"Huh?" Misty wondered, but then got a bit angry and walked off. "What do I care?"

Misty then walked back to the Pokémon Center, not hearing what else Ash had to say. Aaron was sitting on one of the chairs as he waited for Misty. When he heard the sliding doors open, he leaned back and tilted his head over the back of the chair to see Misty walking in.

"So what did he say?" Aaron asked.

"He's as stubborn as ever. He just said he'll win without my help," Misty said.

"I should have guessed," Aaron said as he got up and grabbed an unopened soda can he had with him and handed it to Misty. "Here."

"Thanks," Misty said as she accepted the drink. "And what do you mean? Did you know he'd give me that answer?"

"Not really. But I guess you'd have to look at it from his perspective. Would you rather want to battle with your own Pokémon that you raised and took care of yourself? Or with someone else's Pokémon which you know nothing about and might end up not listening and attacking you during the fight?" Aaron explained.

"I see your point, but he didn't have to be so rude about it," Misty said as she opened the soda and took a drink from it.

After a few minutes of just sitting there and waiting for Ash to come back, Misty and Aaron heard something like an explosion coming from where Ash and Flint were with Pikachu. They both ran out of the Pokémon Center and looked at where they heard the loud sound only to see bright yellow flashes of light and sparks of electricity.

"At least it's nothing serious," Misty said and they both walked back into the building.

The next day, Ash and Pikachu walked back into the Pewter Gym while Aaron and Misty went upstairs to watch the match that would take place. Though Aaron seemed to be looking around a bit.

"Aaron, what are you looking for?" Misty asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's just that this gym is so big but so empty at the same time," Aaron lied and tried to make his answer sound convincing, which luckily it did.

"Yeah. I guess not many people come to watch the matches against Brock," Misty said.

"I'm back!" Ash shouted from the entrance.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" Brock asked, trying to get Ash to back down.

"Eh, we're ready for you this time, Brock," Ash said as Pikachu released some electric sparks from its cheeks.

Aaron kept taking quick glances around the gym so not to draw Misty's attention. He then saw a small handle on a pipe, which was hidden against the wall. He then looked up at the ceiling.

'_Perfect. I know it might be cheating, but there's not much choice at the moment,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Heh. We'll see," was all Brock answered with.

The lights turned on again as the battlefield appeared from the doors on each side once more. Ash and Brock stood at opposite sides of the field.

"Two PokéBalls," was all Brock said for the rules.

"Got it!" Ash said.

"I'll start with Geodude. Go!" Brock called out as he threw a PokéBall.

The ball opened up as soon at it hit the ground. The light materialized into something that appeared to be a floating rock with arms, eyes and a mouth. Ash just twisted his hat around and threw one of his PokéBalls.

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw his own PokéBall.

As soon as the ball hit the battlefield, it opened up and the white light from it materialized into Ash's trusty Bird Pokémon.

"Go, Pidgeotto. Gust attack!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Pidgeotto flew around Geodude as it flapped its wings, making a small tornado form around the Rock Pokémon. Misty and Aaron just watched the battle.

"Doesn't Ash know that Rock-types have a large resistance to Flying-types?" Aaron asked himself.

Brock just smirked as he watched Ash's Pokémon use its attack. Once the tornado died down, Geodude made several efforts to punch Pidgeotto as the Bird Pokémon stayed a little above the floating rock.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he watched.

"Bad strategy. Don't you know Flying Pokémon are weak against Rock-types?" Brock asked his opponent.

"Uh, guess I forgot," Ash said, but Aaron hit himself in the face while Misty sighed.

"More like he never knew to begin with," Aaron said.

"Come on, Ash, use your head," Misty said, but unfortunately her advice went unheeded.

Then Brock's brothers and sisters appeared and stood next to Misty and Aaron.

'_Great. Now it'll be harder for me to help with these kids here,_' Aaron thought to himself. '_Seems like I'll need another way to go through with my plan._'

Pidgeoto was then struck by Geodude and fell out of the sky as it fainted.

"Pidgeotto, return!" Ash called back his Pokémon to its PokéBall.

"Are you giving up again, Ash?" Brock asked.

"No way. Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash said while Pikachu ran onto the field.

"Bad choice," Aaron said.

"Huh? Why's that?" Misty asked.

"Geodude is part Ground-type. Any electric attacks won't have any effect on it," Aaron said.

"The Pikachu again. I feel sorry for it, being raised by such a weak Pokémon trainer," Brock said.

"Pikachu, now is our chance to show him how weak we are," Ash told his Pokémon.

Pikachu sparked electricity from its cheeks and let loose a Thundershock right at Geodude. Surprisingly, the attack hit and roasted Geodude.

"I thought you said electric attacks can't hurt Ground-types?" Misty asked Aaron, which he just sweatdropped from seeing the attack hit and even defeat Brock's Pokémon.

"They're not supposed to," Aaron answered.

Geodude then just fell to the ground while Brock stood there in complete surprise.

"Return, Geodude," Brock said, calling back his Pokémon. "It looks like you've trained it better, but still, it's no match for Onix!"

Brock threw out his second PokéBall and his trusty Onix appeared from within. The Rock Snake Pokémon roared as it stared down at Pikachu and the Electric Mouse just stood there in fear until it suddenly let loose streams of electricity from its cheeks which went everywhere, even nearly hitting Ash. One blast of electricity even hit Onix and made it back off a bit. Several even hit some of the lights on the ceiling, to which Aaron looked up and saw.

'_Perfect,_' Aaron thought to himself as a small, unnoticeable smirk appeared on his face.

"Hey, Pikachu, watch where you're aiming, huh?" Ash told his Pokémon after nearly being hit.

Pikachu stopped its unguided attack, but Onix took this time to wrap its tail around Pikachu just as it did before.

"Oh. Pikachu, give it a Thunderbolt," Ash told the yellow mouse.

While Onix started to squeeze Pikachu with it's tail, the rodent released a powerful blast of electricity from its cheek in every direction, and due to the close proximity of Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon was hit.

"Hang in there, Pikachu, it's working," Ash reassured his Pokémon.

"Onix, Bind it!" Brock told his Pokémon.

Everyone watching the match just looked on in awe. Aaron took this opportunity to slip away and over towards the handle on the pipe. But Pikachu couldn't hold up its attack for much longer and nearly passed out.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out as he saw the yellow rodent stop its attack.

Onix just roared as it crushed Pikachu with its tail. Ash just looked on, but then looked away since he couldn't bare to see his Pokémon in any kind of pain.

"Onix, stop!" Ash heard from Brock.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

Onix then put its tail down and let go of Pikachu.

"No, Brock, I want to play this match to the end," Ash said out of determination.

"Ash, don't you see how injured Pikachu is? You're just being reckless," Misty said to herself as Aaron kneeled at the pipe and handle.

Aaron then looked up at the ceiling and noticed the flames.

'_Those won't be enough to set off the sprinklers on the ceiling. So I'll have to do it myself,_' Aaron thought to himself. '_At least it'll look like an accident._'

"There's no point in going on. I really don't want to hurt your Pokémon," Brock said.

Ash just growled but then looked down at the floor in defeat.

'_Now!_' Aaron thought to himself and quickly turned the handle.

The sprinklers on the ceiling turned on and water began to douse the field. Since Onix wasn't called back, it was immediately affected by the water and roared in pain. Ash and Pikachu just looked at Onix, wondering what had just happened. While everyone was paying attention to what was going on down on the battlefield, Aaron quietly walked back to where he was sitting next to Misty.

"Ash!" Misty called out, causing Ash turn look up at everyone who was watching the fight.

"Rock-types are weakened by water!" Aaron told you young trainer.

Ash finally understood what this meant and quickly turned to face Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Pikachu instantly knew what Ash wanted it to do, so it let loose a Thundershock attack that trailed along the water and straight to Onix, electrocuting the soaked Rock Snake Pokémon, causing Onix to roar in pain. Once Pikachu stopped its attack, Onix fell over with a crash.

"Onix!" Brock called out to his fallen Pokémon.

Onix struggled to get back up, but it was in too much pain to move.

"Pikachu, finish it off!" Ash said, but before he could call out an attack, he was grabbed by all of Brock's younger siblings and couldn't move an inch, thought he closed his eyes. "My conscience is holding me back. I can't bring myself to beat Brock. I'm imagining his little brothers and sisters stopping me from beating the one person they love."

"Ash, open your eyes you idiot!" Aaron yelled out.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he did as he was told and saw Brock's siblings just stuck on him.

"You leave Onix alone. My brother worked hard to raise him, you big bully," one of Brock's sisters said.

"Believe me, kid, I'm no bully," Ash said.

"Stop it. Get off, all of you!" Brock told his siblings. "This is an official match, and we're going to finish it no matter what."

"But, Brock, we know that you love your Pokémon so much!" cried another of Brock's sisters.

"That's why we can't watch Onix suffer from another attack," one of Brock's little brothers said.

Ash then remembered when Brock told Onix to let Pikachu go.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash called his Pokémon back.

Pikachu turned around and looked at Ash with a confused look on its face before running back to its trainer.

"What do you think you're doing? This match isn't over yet, Ash," Brock said, determined to have the battle end properly.

"Those sprinklers going off was just an accident," Ash said, though Aaron sweatdropped a bit and looked away. "Winning the match because of that wouldn't have proved anything. Next time we meet, I'll beat you my way-- fair and square."

Ash then turned around and walked out of the gym after Brock's brothers and sisters got off him.

"Maybe," Brock said to himself.

"Ahh! Just when he finally gets a lucky break, he decides to be a nice guy, too," Misty sighed.

"Uh… actually, that's not true," Aaron said, thinking Misty could be the only one he could tell the truth to.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Remember when Pikachu shot off all that electricity against Onix the first time?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah. That's what started the little fire," Misty said.

"Yeah, but those flames weren't strong enough to set off those sprinklers," Aaron said.

"What do you… Wait, you mean _you_ turned them on?" Misty asked, being sure to stay quiet so no one else hears them.

"Yeah. You looked a little down when Ash lost the first time, so I thought I'd give a hand a bit, even if it technically was cheating," Aaron said, earning a sigh from Misty.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter. Ash didn't finish the match. And what do you mean I looked a little down?" Misty asked.

"Well, we both saw Ash walking with Flint, and he was carrying Pikachu. We both knew Ash lost but you seemed a little bit more upset," Aaron said.

"That's because if he didn't win then we'd end up staying here until he could. And that meant I wouldn't get my bike back," Misty said, to which Aaron just smiled.

"Well, what do you say we get going then?" Aaron suggested as he stood up and held out his hand to help Misty up.

"Yeah," Misty agreed as she took Aaron's hand and he helped her up before they left the gym.

Later that night, Ash, Misty, Aaron and their newest friend Brock headed out of Pewter City.

"Hey, Ash, are you sure it's ok if I go with you on your Pokémon journey?" Brock asked.

"Sure, I'm sure. The more the merrier," Ash said. "And it's good to have somebody to talk with."

"Well, what about those two who keep following you?" Brock said as he turned around to face Misty and Aaron.

"Don't forget about my bike, Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled at the younger trainer. "I'm gonna follow you till you pay me back!"

"And I'm an old friend of hers," Aaron chimed in.

"I know! I know!" Ash yelled towards Misty's comment about him having to pay her back, but then he looked down at Pikachu. "Pikachu, let's try to lose her."

Both Ash and Pikachu then ran as fast as they could.

"Wait up, Ash!" Brock called out as he ran after him.

"You won't get away!" Misty yelled to Ash.

"Come on, Misty. We'll show them that they can't leave us behind," Aaron said as he grabbed Misty's hand and gently pulled her with him as he ran after Ash and Brock, making her run with him.

The four of them continued to run with Ash trying to get away from Misty, Brock trying to stick with Ash, Misty trying to chase after Ash, and Aaron just staying close to Misty and making sure the group isn't separated, though the four of them ended up running over something, but completely ignored it.

"Hey, Ash!" Brock called out as Ash ran faster.

"Wait for us!" Misty yelled out as she and Aaron ran after Ash and Brock.

* * *

**Ash: Welcome to the group, Brock.**

**Brock: Thanks, Ash.**

**Misty: hey Aaron, that was nice what you did, even if it was considered cheating.**

**Aaron: Sure thing.**

**Ash: Huh? Cheating? What did he do?**

**Me: Just read back a bit.**

***Ash and Brock read back***

**Both: WHAT?!**

**Aaron: AzureKite4, why did you have to tell them?**

**Me: It's not like it matters. Brock can't take his badge back anyway.**

**Brock: *sulking* That's true.**

**Ash: Hey, we didn't get to see Aaron fight.**

**Me: Don't worry, he will in the next chapter/episode. I'll make sure of it.**

***Aaron gulps***

**Me: Don't worry, I won't do anything bad. I'm not a mean person. At least you had a bigger part in this episode, Aaron.**

**Aaron: That's true. And I was mentioned more often and even talked more often.**

**Ash: Speaking of which, why was my whole "Super-charging Pikachu" scene cut out?**

**Me: Because since Aaron is an OC, he needs to be in it more often. But there will be one point where Aaron will take over as the lead role for a bit.**

**Ash: SAY WHAT?!**

**Me: Like I said, he needs a bigger role. Anyway, who wants to close us off?**

**Misty: I will. Please R&R, everybody.**


	3. Clefairy And The Moon Stone

**Me: Woo-hoo! I'm on a roll!**

**Ash: What the?! Two in one day?!**

**Me: Like I said, I had the day off, so I have a lot of free time on my hands. Plus I was too bored to do anything else.**

***Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock sweatdrop***

**Me: What?**

**Aaron: Are you doing this just to make us work harder?**

**Me: Huh? Work harder? What are you talking about? You're just characters in my fanfiction.**

**Misty: That may be so, but even fanfiction characters need a break once in a while. Why do you think new episodes for TV shows are updated only once a week?**

**Me: I guess you're right. At least I work the next two days, so it'll give you guys a bit of a break. And seeing as how things are going, I'll might only be able to upload once a week at the least. Maybe twice a week.**

**Brock: So what's happening this time?**

**Me: Well, Aaron finally gets a big part in this. We get to see not one, but two of his Pokémon fight.**

**Aaron: Nice.**

**Me: And Misty, remember that Tentacool that Aaron had when you two became friends?**

**Misty: Yeah? What about it?**

**Me: You'll see. Now then, time to decide who gives the disclaimer. Let's see here... Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo.**

***points at Misty***

**Misty: Alright. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 3: Episode 6: Clefairy And The Moon Stone-

Having obtained a Boulder Badge from Brock, Ash and his friends continue their travels, which leads them to the mysterious Mt. Moon.

"Mt. Moon! Doesn't the name sound romantic?" Misty thought out loud.

"That's because you're a girl, Misty. Of course you'd think something like that," Ash said.

"Who asked you?" Misty said, a little angry, and hit Ash in the head.

Aaron just laughed at their antics.

'_Misty's right though. It is kinda cool and mysterious,_' Aaron thought to himself. '_So of course it would have some sort of romantic setting._'

"People say that a huge meteor crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times," Brock explained.

"A meteor!" Ash said in awe.

"Is it really true?" Misty asked.

"I heard the meteor was called "The Moon Stone"," Aaron stated, earning a strange look from Brock that seemed to say "you stole my line".

"Oh, now that's romantic!" Misty said.

"Aah!" the group suddenly heard someone scream.

"Look! Over there!" Ash said as he pointed up towards a cave in the mountain.

"Let's check it out," Aaron suggested.

The four of them then ran towards the sound of the voice. They arrived to see a man in a white lab coat being attacked by several Zubats.

"It's a bunch of Zubat!" Ash pointed out.

"They're attacking that guy!" Misty said as she saw the guy being attack was curled up into a ball.

"Dexter, analyze!" Ash told his Pokédex as he held it up to the Zubat.

"Zubat: Flying Pokémon with Supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight," the red machine said.

"Not these Zubat," Ash said.

"Something must have forced them out of the cave," Aaron said.

"That guy needs our help!" Misty shouted.

"You're right. I'm sorry," Ash said while Aaron sighed in relief that Misty didn't yell at him. "Pikachu! Thundershock!"

Pikachu's cheeks began to glow yellow as it released a powerful blast of electricity at the Zubats, causing them to fly back into the cave once the attack was finished. The man in the white coat was also struck by the attack though and was now lying on the ground in a bit of pain. The four trainers ran up to him.

"Are you ok?" Ash asked, hoping the man was alright.

"Wow!" the man exclaimed as he instantly jumped up and gave Ash a big hug. "You guys are the greatest!"

"Really, it was nothing," Ash strained to say due to the man in white hugging him a bit too tight.

"I'm talking superfantabulistic! I mean two thumbs up-- way up! The best rescue I've ever had!" the guy in the white coat thanked, but then both he and Ash were electrocuted by Pikachu, who was being squished between the two of them during the hug.

The man in white fell over and Ash had just tilted from the attack.

'_That probably had to hurt,_' Aaron thought to himself as he watched the event happen in front of him.

"They say man's best friend is a Pokémon, and with you two, I believe it," the man said after he got back up.

"Oh… That's nice," Ash thanked.

"I'm so moved. Such friendship I thought I'd never see when the Zubat began attacking me! I thought I was done for when who should arrive? Two heroes thanks to whom I'm alive! I'm alive!" the man shouted as he started to have a crazy imagination. "Thank you so much! Thank you!"

"He certainly doesn't look like the poetic type," Misty said.

"Maybe he was just saying the first things that popped into his head," Aaron wondered.

"Did I mention how grateful I am?" the man asked as he looked at Ash.

"Yeah. Um, anyway, why were the Zubat attacking you, mister?" Ash asked.

"Never call me mister! My name's Seymour! Seymour the scientist!" the man said. "Knowledge… Research… I'm Seymour the scientist!"

The four trainers just stared at Seymour while Aaron sweatdropped a bit.

"I kinda figured that. The lab coat gave it away," Aaron muttered.

"Come with me and you'll find out why I was being attacked," Seymour said.

The five of them then walked into the cave, though wondered why there were lightbulbs inside.

"See? The cave is all lit up inside. Somebody has strung these lights through the whole cave. But the Pokémon in this cave need the dark. These lights are upsetting them and making them confused," Seymour said.

"That would explain why the Zubats were outside in the sunlight and attacking you," Aaron thought aloud.

"Look here. These Paras are planting their mushrooms everywhere. And the hot lights are drying up these Sandshrew," Seymour said as they walked by both groups of wild Pokémon. "That's why I'm here… On patrol to protect the mountain from the troublemakers' attack against these caves."

"Troublemakers? Why attack a cave?" Misty wondered.

"Could it be because of the Moon Stone?" Aaron asked.

"I'm afraid you're right," Seymour answered as he turned around to face the group of trainers.

"The Moon Stone?" Ash asked.

"That's right," Seymour said. "The Moon Stone is an awesome boulder. A million years old or even older! Deep in these caves the meteor hides, though no explorer has found the place of the legendary rock from space! We've studied its fragments for many an hour and discovered it increases a Pokémon's power! And that is why the attackers are here! They've come to take the Moon Stone… Or so I fear."

"I seriously think he's just saying the first thing that comes into his head and it just turns out to be poetry," Aaron said, but the only one who seemed to pay even the slightest amount of attention seemed to be Misty.

"The Moon Stone?" Ash asked.

'_That better not be all Ash is going to say while we're here,_' Aaron thought to himself as he sweatdropped.

"Ever since I was a little boy, I've believed the Pokémon came to Earth from Outer Space," Seymour said.

"From Outer Space?!" the four trainers asked in awe.

"Yes. And where, you ask, is the spacecraft that brought them to Earth? In this cave. It's the Moon Stone!" Seymour said, though mostly out of his own imagination.

"It sure is an original theory," Misty said.

"But don't you see? It means the Moon Stone belongs to the Pokémon! We Humans must not take it from them!" Seymour shouted, and then turned his attention to Ash.  
"You agree with me, don't you?"

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Ash agreed, though mostly out of fear that Seymour might do something.

"Clefairy!" is the next thing the five of them heard.

They turned their heads to see something small and pink carrying a rock just happily bouncing along down the tunnel.

"That looks like a… Clefairy!" Brock examined.

"It's so cute!" Misty said, slightly blushing at the cuteness of the small pink Pokémon.

Ash then held his Pokédex to the Pokémon.

"Clefairy. This impish Pokémon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mt. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by Humans," the machine explained.

Ash then ran closer to it and grabbed an empty PokéBall.

"Oh, I gotta catch it!" Ash said, as he was about to throw the ball.

"You can't!" Seymour said as he grabbed Ash's arm to stop him.

"Huh?" Ash wondered, only to watch the Clefairy bounce away down another tunnel.

"Sorry, but it's best if you just let it stay here. I hope you understand," Seymour said.

"Sure, Seymour," Ash agreed. "I understand."

"Clefairy!" the five of them heard from down the tunnel, though it sounded more panicked than before.

"Huh?" all five Humans wondered.

They all then ran towards the sound to see Clefairy backed into a corner and Meowth up on a ledge.

"It's Meowth!" Ash exclaimed upon seeing the Cat Pokémon.

"Meowth! What are you doing here?" Meowth asked.

"Looking for troublemakers like you!" Ash answered. "So Team Rocket is causing all the trouble around here. What a surprise."

"We've got to stop them before they start any _more_ trouble," Brock said.

"Trouble?" the five of them heard a female voice ask.

"Make that double," they then heard a male voice say.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie," the female voice said as she came into view.

"James," the male voice said as he also came into view.

"Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said, taking his place in the motto.

"They sure are show-offs," Seymour said.

"You got that right," Aaron agreed, and then looked over at Misty. "Are these the same Team Rocket guys you told me about back in Pewter City?"

"Yeah, these are them," Misty answered with a sigh.

"Don't you guys ever get tired of saying the same things over and over?" Ash asked.

"You're just jealous, boy," Jessie said.

"Because _we_ won't let _you_ join us," James added.

"I'd never join up with you!" Ash shouted at them.

"You put the lights in this cave! It's your fault the Pokémon who live here are so confused!" Brock join in the shouting towards Team Rocket.

"What a shame," Jessie said, not even the least bit concerned.

"How will we _ever_ forgive ourselves?" James said sarcastically.

"We wanna get our hands on the Moon Stone so we can power up our Pokémon with it," Meowth said.

"With the Moon Stone in out hands, nothing will stop up," Jessie said.

"We won't let you get away with it!" Ash told them.

"You want a rock? Take one of these! Then get lost!" Brock said, pointing to a random rock on the ground.

"Get lost? How rude," Jessie said.

"Let's teach him manners," James said.

The two of them put down their shovel and pick-axe and grabbed their PokéBalls as Ash, Brock and Aaron did the same.

"Keep an eye on Seymour and Clefairy," Ash told Misty. "Make a run for it when you get the chance."

"Right," Misty agreed.

"Ready or not…" Jessie and James said together as they threw their PokéBalls.

"Ekans!" Jessie called out.

"Koffing!" James yelled out.

"Butterfree! I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw his PokéBall.

"Here we go! Uhh!" Brock yelled out as he threw his ball.

"Let's go!" Aaron shouted as he tossed his PokéBall into the air.

Jessie's and James' Pokémon, Ekans and Koffing, were the first to appear. Ash's Butterfree appeared next, followed by Brock's newly acquired Zubat while Aaron sent out his Spearow.

"A Zubat!" Ash exclaimed as he saw Brock's Pokémon.

"I captured it just before we entered the cave," Brock admitted.

"Aw. I should have caught one," Ash said in disappointment, but then noticed the Spearow. "Huh? Who's is that?"

"That would be mine," Aaron answered.

"Huh? But I thought you said you had Water-types," Ash said.

"I said I liked Water-types cause they're my favorites, but I didn't say that was all I had," Aaron said.

"Koffing, Smog attack!" James ordered.

"Butterfree, Whirlwind now!" Ash told his Pokémon.

"Zubat, Double Team now!" Brock commanded his Pokémon.

"Spearow, join in with Gust!" Aaron requested his Pokémon **(A/N: I know Spearow can't learn Gust, but I needed it to have an attack to join in with.)**.

All three Flying Pokémon flapped their wings, sending the gas cloud back towards Team Rocket.

"Not bad," Ash said.

"Quick, now's our chance!" Misty said as she pushed Seymour.

Aaron then looked up at his Spearow.

"Spearow, think you can help out Ash and Brock here while I go on ahead?" Aaron asked his Pokémon.

"Spear!" the Bird Pokémon said.

"Thanks," Aaron said as he quickly took off to follow Misty and Seymour, knowing that his Spearow would go looking for him once things were done against Team Rocket.

With Misty and Seymour, Clefairy had jumped out of a hole and started to run away. Well, bounce away to be more precise. Misty stuck her head out of the hole to see this.

"Oh, no. Clefairy's running away!" Misty said, getting Seymour's attention as he looked out the hole as well.

Clefairy continued to bounce away as Misty and Seymour climbed up a rocky cliff after it.

"Clefairy! Come back!" Seymour called out to the Pokémon.

Clefairy arrived at the top of the cliff, only to meet with Meowth.

"Meowth's got you now!" Meowth said to the Clefairy, causing the Pokémon to stop.

"Fairy!" was what Misty and Seymour heard.

"Clefairy!" Misty called out as she and Seymour looked up only to see Clefairy had jumped off the cliff and headed right for Misty.

The Clefairy hit Misty in the face and she lost her grip, causing her to fall. But before she fell, a hand reach out and grabbed her arm tightly and struggled to pull her up.

"You okay?" the voice that grabbed her asked.

"Huh?" Misty wondered as she looked up at the person who stopped her from falling. "Aaron!"

"I got ya, Misty," Aaron said as he pulled her up.

"Thanks," Misty said.

However, Clefairy and Seymour had both tumbled down into the shallow river. Misty and Aaron jumped down to see if Seymour and the Pokémon were okay, but then Meowth jumped down onto a lone rock in the river.

"All right!" Meowth said as he landed on the rock. "Give Meowth that Moon Stone!"

"Huh?" all three Humans wondered as they turned to face Meowth, who had extended his claws.

"Meowth, I'm sure we can be reasonable about this!" Seymour said, trying to bargain with the Cat Pokémon from Team Rocket.

"No, we can't!" Meowth said at he jumped towards Seymour.

"Not so fast, Meowth!" Misty said as she threw one of her PokéBalls into the water.

"Yeah, you'll have to go through us first," Aaron said as he threw one of his into the water as well.

As the PokéBalls hit the bottom, Misty's PokéBall opened to reveal Staryu while Aaron's released a Tentacool. Misty saw the Tentacool and turned to face Aaron.

"Aaron, is that…?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, it is. The very same Tentacool from 6 years ago. I kept it since it reminded me of our friendship," Aaron answered as he gave her a smile.

"Staryu! Swift attack!" Misty told her Pokémon.

"And Tentacool, use Poison Sting!" Aaron requested from his Pokémon.

Staryu shot several small stars from the jewel at its core at Meowth while Tentacool shot hundreds of small needles from the red spots on its head.

Meowth was hit by both attacks and fell back onto the rock.

"How about a double-team attack, Misty?" Aaron asked.

"Gladly," Misty agreed.

"Tentacool!" Aaron called out.

"Staryu!" Misty said.

"Water Gun!" both trainers commanded.

Staryu shot a stream of water from it's top point while Tentacool leand back a bit and shot out it own stream of water. Both Water Gun attacks combined into a larger Water Gun and hit Meowth right when he was about to open his big mouth to say something. The two Water Gun attacks started to inflate Meowth. Once the attacks stopped, Meowth was sent flying as the water shot out of his mouth.

"Bye, Meowth! Have a nice _drip_!" Misty said as she waved at Meowth, earning a chuckle from Aaron.

"Nice one, Misty," Aaron commented.

"Thank you," Misty said, then kneeled down and picked up his Tentacool. "And it's so good to see you again."

"Tentacool," the Pokémon spoke, as it appeared to be smiling.

"How were you able to keep Tentacool, Aaron? I thought you said it was your dad's," Misty asked.

"Once I turned 10 I asked him if I'd be able to have Tentacool as my own Pokémon. He asked me why and I told him it was what started the friendship between you and me," Aaron answered.

Misty just smiled and gently put Tentacool back down as she held her PokéBall to Staryu.

"Staryu, return!" Misty said, calling back her Pokémon.

"You did a good job, Tentacool," Aaron said as he returned his Pokémon as well.

"Hey!" both Aaron and Misty heard a voice say, as well as Seymour, and the three of them turned around to see Ash and Brock running towards them and Aaron's Spearow flying towards him.

"Nice work, Spearow. You can take a rest," Aaron said as he recalled his Bird Pokémon to its PokéBall.

"Is everybody alright?" Ash asked the three people.

"We won't be bothered by Meowth anymore, thanks to Misty The Mighty!" Misty answered.

"And Aaron The Awesome!" Aaron joined in with a laugh and earning a laugh from Misty as well.

The five of them then stayed by the river as the sun started to set. They decided to stay there and rest up their Pokémon, as well as get a little rest themselves.

"What's that?" Ash asked, pointing at a tin Brock held in his hands and feeding whatever was in it to his Zubat.

"This is Pokémon food, made from my own secret recipe. The ingredients are specially blended for each Pokémon," Brock answered.

"Hmm…" Ash wondered as he gave one to his Butterfree.

"Hey Brock, mind if I let Spearow try some?" Aaron asked.

"Of course," Brock answered as handed a few to Aaron, who then called out his Bird Pokémon.

"Here, Spearow. Try some of this," Aaron said as he held out his hand, which had the Pokémon food.

Spearow seemed hesitant at first, but ate one of the bits of food before screeching happily.

"I see you like it," Aaron said as he saw his Pokémon eat the rest out of his hand.

"How's it taste?" Ash asked his Butterfree, which was too busy eating the bit of food Ash gave it to answer.

"I've been developing it for years. I keep improving on the recipe. I'll make a batch for Pikachu," Brock said to Ash.

"I'll try some," Seymour volunteered.

Seymour took one and threw it in his mouth.

"Mmm… Mmm, mmm, mmm! Not bad," Seymour said as he ate the piece of Pokémon food.

"Really? Let me taste," Ash said as he took one and tossed it in his mouth.

Ash's reaction to the Pokémon food however made him want to throw up a bit.

"Well, you might not like it, but the Pokémon sure do," Brock said as he watched Ash's reaction.

Meanwhile, Pikachu and Clefairy had started their own conversation. This drew the attention of the five Humans.

"Pikachu makes friends so easily. I wonder what they're talking about," Ash said.

Pikachu and Clefairy then stood up and looked down at the Humans.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Then Clefairy had started to bounce away again while Pikachu ran after it. The four trainers and the scientist stood up and began following Pikachu and Clefairy, after returning Butterfree, Zubat and Spearow to their PokéBalls first. Night came rather quickly as the five of them hiked up the mountain, still following Pikachu and Clefairy.

"Pikachu, where on Earth are you taking us?" Ash asked.

"I think it might be Clefairy who's leading us somewhere," Aaron said.

The two Pokémon then jumped through a bush as the trainers and the scientist walked up behind them and spotted a tunnel.

"It's another cave!" Ash pointed out.

They all walked into the cave until they reached a rather large room. The five Humans stood their in awe as they saw a giant rock glistening from the light of the moon and several smaller rocks placed around the large one.

"It's the core of the Moon Stone!" Seymour said in complete awe.

"This feels like a dream," Misty said.

"So the Moon Stone legend is true," Brock said.

"Look! Clefairy's doing something!" Ash said as he noticed the small pink Pokémon bounce up towards the core of the Moon Stone, catching the attention of the other four people in the group.

Clefairy stopped bouncing at the large stone and put the stone it was carrying in an empty spot in the ring of smaller stones. The stone Clefairy had been carrying then started to glow, followed by the rest of the smaller stones and then the large boulder of Moon Stone. The group then heard the sound of several Clefairys approaching.

"There's so many of them!" Misty said as a bunch of Clefairys entered the room.

One of the Clefairy, most likely the one that the group was helping, stepped forward.

"Clefairy! Fairy, fairy, clefairy!" the pink Pokémon said before bowing.

"I think it's saying hello!" Ash chuckled.

"That or it's thanking us for keeping it safe on its way here," Aaron added.

"Yeah!" Brock said.

"Oh, look at them!" Misty said as she saw the Clefairys bouncing around in sort of a dance fashion around the giant Moon Stone, making the other four in the group turn their attention to the Clefairys.

"Amazing! These Clefairy formed their own society. This is an incredible sight!" Seymour said.

Pikachu then turned to the Clefairy next to it and seemed to be asking it a question, to which the Clefairy was answering back.

"Hey, Pikachu, what's Clefairy been telling you anyway, huh?" Ash asked his small yellow rodent.

"Pika! Pikapi!" Pikachu said, turning its attention to Ash.

Pikachu then started to do some body language while talking.

"You understand that?" Seymour asked.

"Of course I do! It's _my_ Pokémon!" Ash said in a sort of gloating manner.

Pikachu continued it's actions while Ash guessed at what Pikachu was saying.

"The Clefairy collect all of these rocks, and… do the Macarena!" Ash guessed, lousily, as Pikachu fell on its face.

Pikachu then crossed its arms into an "X" and appeared to be saying "Wrong answer". The yellow mouse then grabbed Clefairy and pointed at it.

"The Clefairy… pick up?" Ash guessed when Pikachu lifted Clefairy over its head.

"A pick-up truck?" Brock guessed.

"Raising!" Misty guessed, causing Pikachu to put Clefairy down and point at her. "I got it!"

"Nice work, Misty," Aaron congratulated.

Pikachu then did some more body language.

"Sounds like raising," Misty corrected herself after Pikachu's actions.

"The Clefairy like raisins?" Ash guessed.

Pikachu then jumped up and pulled a strand of hair from Ash's head. Pikachu then waved the strand of hair to the Humans.

"What rhymes with hair?" Misty wondered.

"Is it dare?" Brock guessed, earning another "Wrong answer" sound from Pikachu.

"How about prayer?" Aaron guessed, to which Pikachu held up a card with a circle, signaling a right answer.

"The Clefairy pray to the Moon Stone!" Ash said.

Pikachu then held up another card with a circle on it, indicating another right answer.

"Is it because the Moon Stone fell from the heavens?" Seymour wondered.

"Then maybe the legends are true," Misty said. "Maybe the Moon Stone really did come from space."

"Yeah," Ash said in agreement.

"Of course!! It all makes sense now!" Seymour shouted.

"What does?" Ash asked.

"Outer Space, Pokémon, and the Human race will ride the Moon Stone into space! First to the moon, then to Mars, then together to the stars!" Seymour shouted out.

'_I definitely think he's just spouting what appears in his head and it's just coming out like poetry,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Stars? That's our cue!" the group heard someone say, which was a very familiar voice.

The group turned around and saw Team Rocket right behind them.

"You guys don't know when to quit," Ash said.

"Y-you keep away from the Moon Stone, or else!" Seymour said.

"Or else?" James repeated.

"I think we've been threatened," Jessie said.

"The Moon Stone belongs to the Clefairy, not to you troublemakers," Seymour said, though his legs were shaking like crazy. "L-leave this cave at once!"

"What's that unusual sound?" James asked.

"His knees are shaking!" Jessie laughed.

"Hmm! Sounds like a wimp!" Meowth said.

"I'll show you!" Seymour said before charging at Team Rocket.

"Don't, Seymour!" Ash said in an attempt to stop him.

Seymour just ran towards Team Rocket with his eyes closed, but Meowth stuck his foot out, causing Seymour to trip and fall face-first into the ground.

"Ha! Did you have a nice trip?" Meowth said.

"My glasses. I can't see a thing!" Seymour said as he slowly got back up, his glasses no longer on his face due t the fall.

"Oh, Seymour," Misty said, worried about the man.

"That wasn't fair!" Ash said.

"All's fair in a Pokémon match, boy!" Jessie said as she held out her PokéBall.

"Enough talk," James said, also holding out his PokéBall.

"I agree! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash told his Pokémon as Pikachu jumped forward.

"Onix, let's go!" Brock called out as he threw he PokéBall.

Jessie and James released their Pokémon, Ekans and Koffing, while Brock's Onix was released from its PokéBall.

"Let's show them that size don't matter!" Jessie said. "Ekans, underground!"

"Koffing, Smoke Screen!" James ordered his Pokémon.

Ekans jumped into the air and dove into the ground, creating a hole while Koffing released smoke from its body.

"Smoke won't stop us," Ash coughed.

"Right," Aaron said as he grabbed his PokéBall and threw it before Ash could grab his own ball. "Let's go, Spearow!"

The ball opened and the light materialized into Spearow.

"Spearow, use Gust to blow this smoke away!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

Spearow flapped its tiny wings as hard as it could to blow the smoke away. Once the smoke was gone, there was now a huge hole where the Moon Stone had been.

"Huh? The Moon Stone is gone!" Ash said.

"Team Rocket stole it!" Misty assumed.

"That battle was just to distract us!" Aaron added.

Brock then stood in front of the hole.

"All right, Onix. Follow them underground!" Brock told his Pokémon.

Onix then did as Ekans had and dove into the ground. Aaron then returned Spearow to its PokéBall and the four trainer ran out of the room.

"There's still a chance to catch them," Ash said as he ran.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket was sliding down the side of the mountain on a giant sled, which they had put the giant Moon Stone on.

"Nice guys always…" Jessie started.

"Finish last," James said, finishing Jessie's sentence.

"We just went from worst to first. Ha!" Meowth said from his spot on top of the Moon Stone.

But ahead of them, Brock's Onix shot up from underground and blocked Team Rocket's path. The sled rammed into Onix and knocked Team Rocket and the giant Moon Stone off while the sled itself was destroyed.

"Got them!" Ash said as he, Misty, Aaron and Brock ran towards Team Rocket.

"Nice work, Onix," Brock said to his Pokémon. "Grab them now!"

Onix then dove towards Team Rocket.

"Koffing, counter-attack!" James told his Pokémon.

Koffing then flew towards Onix and smashed itself into the giant Pokémon's head, causing both Koffing and Onix to crash into the ground.

"Onix!" Brock said, worried his Pokémon might be badly injured.

"Hey, look!" Ash said as he saw someone behind Onix.

"It's Seymour!" Misty said.

Seymour stuck his head out of the hole caused by Onix and just looked around while the Clefairys jumped out of the hole one by one.

"Meowth! What's going on?" Meowth wondered.

"Clefairy!" the group of pink Pokémon said.

All the Clefairys then raised their arms and started moving them from side-to-side.

"What are they doing?" Jessie asked.

"Waving their fingers," James said.

"This way and that way. This way and that way," Meowth said as himself, Jessie and James started moving from side-to-side in motion with the Clefairys.

They weren't the only ones, though. Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock were doing the same.

"I'm… Getting… Dizzy," Misty said.

"This is an attack the Clefairy use called the Metronome," Seymour said as he was doing the same as everyone else. "I've never seen the Clefairy use the Metronome before. Who knows what'll happen?"

Then the Clefairy stopped waving their fingers and everyone else stopped moving from side-to-side. The Clefairys appeared to be glowing and suddenly an explosion occurred underneath Team Rocket, sending them flying through the air.

"Well, it looks like Team Rocket is…" Jessie started.

"Blasting off again!" James finished.

"That was the Metronome?" Meowth said.

"I give it two thumbs down!" Jessie said.

"Me, too!" James agreed.

"Meowth three!" Meowth added.

The three of them, along with Koffing and Ekans, disappeared in the sky.

"Wow," was all Ash could say at what happened.

Then, pieces of the giant Moon Stone, which was caught in the explosion, started falling from the sky.

"The Moon Stone…" Seymour said as the saw the shards falling.

When some of the Clefairy had a shard of the Moon Stone touch them, they started to glow and evolved into Clefables.

"The Clefairy are…" Aaron started.

"Evolving!" Misty said, finishing Aaron's sentence.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the new Pokémon in front of him.

"Clefable. An advanced form of Clefairy. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokémon in the world," the machine said.

"The power of the Moon Stone did this," Seymour said in awe.

The five Humans, as well as all the Clefairy and Clefable, were back in the room where the Moon Stone had been and the Clefairy and Clefable had continued their bouncing dance.

"I've decided to live here with the Clefairy," Seymour suddenly said.

"Huh?!" all four trainers said.

"It's been my life's dream to find the Moon Stone. Some day I will travel to the stars with the Clefairy," Seymour said with a smile.

"Wow!" Misty said.

"That's really cool, Seymour," Aaron added.

"When you do visit Outer Space, I hope you'll remember to send us a post card," Brock said.

The group of trainers then left the cave to continue their journey.

"So long, Seymour!" Ash said as he waved goodbye. "Good-Bye, Clefairy!"

"Good-Bye, Ash! Good-Bye, Pikachu! And thank you all!" Seymour said as he waved to the group.

"Do you think the Clefairy really came to Earth from Outer Space?" Ash asked.

"It's fun to imagine they did," Misty said.

"And it would be amazing if they actually did," Aaron added.

The group of four, five if you include Pikachu, continued on their journey until they reached a fork in the road with a sign in the middle.

"This road leads to Cerulean City," Brock said after reading the sign, which clearly said "Cerulean City" and had an arrow under it pointing the way.

Aaron turned to face Misty, only to see she had backed away.

"Misty…" Aaron said quietly to himself.

"Well, I guess we're headed the right way," Brock continued.

Aaron then walked back to Misty, ignoring what Brock and Ash were saying.

"Misty? You feeling ok?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Misty answered, but Aaron just kept looking at her. "Ok, not really."

"It'll be fine, Misty. I'll stick with you," Aaron said, giving his friend his reassurance.

"Thanks, Aaron," Misty said and a slight, unnoticeable blush appear on Aaron's face.

"Gary was here?" Ash read from the sign, getting the attention of Misty and Aaron. "Loser?!"

"Here he goes again," Misty sighed.

"Oh, that Gary!" Ash said angrily. "I'll show you!"

Ash then ran as fast as he could towards Cerulean City.

"What's the hurry?" Misty asked.

"I think he's a rival or something," Aaron guessed.

"He'll never learn," Brock said.

* * *

**Me: And another chapter complete.**

**Ash: Why doesn't Misty want to go to Cerulean City?**

**Misty:...**

**Aaron: Come on, Ash. Don't you see she's uncomfortable about it?**

**Ash: Fine.**

**Misty: Thanks, Aaron.**

***Looks at Brock***

**Me: *Whispering* Hey Brock, thinking what I'm thinking?**

**Brock: *Whispering* Maybe. Depends what you're thinking.**

**Me: Guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter/episode to find out. Although Ash, you and Brock won't be in this next one very much.**

**Ash&Brock: What?! Why not?!**

**Me: I said before that since Aaron was an OC, he'd get to have more time. And this next chapter/episode will be delving into Aaron's and Misty's past a bit.**

**Brock: I guess that's a good reason.**

**Ash: But I'm the star of the series! I'm supposed to get more time than anyone else!**

***sweatdrops as Ash started whining***

**Me: Anyway, please R&R, everybody.**


	4. The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City

**Me: Alright, how's everyone been during their two-day break?**

***Notices Ash sulking in the corner, still whining to himself about losing his "star role" position while Aaron was trying to cheer Misty up and Brock just stood there***

**Me: Hey, what's going on?**

**Brock: They've been like this since the end of the previous chapter. Ash keeps sulking about being the main character yet not getting much time in each chapter anymore. And Aaron has been trying to cheer Misty up every time Ash mentions Cerulean City.**

**Me: Aw, man. The break was supposed to be for you guys to relax and not worry about that stuff. But wait, why aren't you sulking, Brock?**

**Brock: I've always been a side character in the original series, right? It's not much different now.**

**Me: I guess. Well, since you're the only one capable, wanna give out the disclaimer?**

**Brock: Sure. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 4: Episode 7: The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City-

Ash, Brock and Pikachu continued on their way towards Cerulean City, but Aaron and Misty were far behind them since Misty didn't really want to be in Cerulean City and Aaron wanted to try and make her feel more comfortable about going. Ash let out a yawn as he stretched.

"It's a great day to just enjoy the sunshine," Ash said.

"And while you're enjoying the sunshine, Gary's catching more Pokémon," Brock said, causing Ash to nearly fall over in classic anime fashion. "But I guess a Pokémon trainer can capture Pokémon _and_ enjoy the sun."

"Pika--?" Pikachu said as the little yellow mouse heard someone running towards them.

The mouse turned around and saw Misty running to catch up with Aaron right behind her.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Misty called out to them.

"Chaa--!" Pikachu squealed, glad to see Misty was back with them.

"Where do you think you're going?" Misty asked Ash and Brock once she and Aaron stopped right next to the oldest and youngest trainers in their group.

"Oh, I know where we're going. We're going to Cerulean City," Ash answered.

"Ah! Cerulean City? What are you going there for?" Misty asked as she nearly freaked when Ash clarified where their destination was.

"Well, it's none of your business, but I'm going for more badges," Ash answered.

"Uh, Ash… You don't want Pokémon from there. Trust me," Misty said, trying to convince him not to go.

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"Because they're all--" Misty started, but was immediately cut off by Ash.

"All what?" Ash asked.

"Very scary Ghost Pokémon that looks like this…" Misty said and tried to make the scariest face she could, though upon seeing her face, Aaron tried as hard as he could to hold in a laugh. "Like monsters!"

Ash just laughed at Misty's attempt to scare him away from going to Cerulean.

"Nice face, Misty," Ash laughed, causing Misty to sweatdrop. "Come on, Brock. Let's go, Pikachu."

"Hey! Wait a second!" Misty shouted as she ran ahead of Ash and Brock, again with Aaron right behind her, though he stayed quiet so he wouldn't give out the real reason Misty didn't want to go. "Hey, what about Vermilion City? It's right on the water, and there are lots of neat Pokémon, and you can watch all the giant yachts pulling into the harbor."

Then Misty got a kind of dreamy look like she was thinking of something completely romantic, which she was.

"And there's a little park way up on a hill where you can watch the sunset. That's so romantic," Misty said.

"Uh-huh," was all Ash said, not really getting what Misty was trying to say.

"It's much nicer than that old Cerulean City. So let's get going!" Misty cheered.

"Ok, let's go," Ash said happily.

"Really?" Misty asked, thinking she finally convinced Ash to go to Vermilion.

"To Cerulean City," Ash announced, causing Misty to fall anime-style while Aaron just stood there and sweatdropped.

Ash, Brock and Pikachu just walked past the two trainers.

"I've got to get more trainer badges, Brock. And since there's a gym in Cerulean City…" Ash said, thinking Brock would get the point.

"Yeah, makes sense to me," Brock agreed.

Aaron just helped Misty back up.

"You ok?" Aaron asked his friend.

"Yeah, I'm ok," Misty said as she rubbed her head. "Ah, I never wanted to wind up back _here_."

Misty then just had a disappointed look on her face.

"Well, why don't we just walk around town for a bit and try to think of some reason for you to have come back," Aaron suggested.

"I guess that's all we can do. All right then," Misty said as the two of them walked into Cerulean City some time after Ash and Brock did. "But you know, you don't have to stay with me for this."

"Why not? You're my best friend, Misty. I'd do whatever I can to help you," Aaron said, causing Misty to get a slight, unnoticeable blush on her face.

The two walked into the city and just started walking around.

"This place sure does bring back memories, though," Aaron said.

"I know what you mean. As much as I didn't want to come back so soon, it does have its good points," Misty said.

"Hm…" was all Aaron said as he looked around.

"What is it, Aaron?" Misty asked.

"Just on the lookout for my sister," Aaron answered, a bit of a sour look appeared on his face.

"You mean Karin?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, that's her," Aaron said with a sigh.

"You see, that's another reason why we're such good friends. We're both the youngest in our family and our older sisters keep finding some way to torment us," Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's the only good thing about my older sister," Aaron said.

"What did you just say, little brother?" Aaron and Misty heard a voice ask.

"Oh, no. I hope that isn't who I think it is," Aaron said as both he and Misty turned around only for Aaron to be tackled to the ground by a feminine figure running at him. "Ow! Hey, watch it!"

"You shouldn't say anything so mean about your big sister," the feminine figure on top of him said.

Aaron opened his eyes once the pain from his head hitting the ground subsided. The girl sitting on him had long blonde hair, brown eyes, and quite possibly the most evil look on her face you could imagine. Her clothing consisted of light-blue bell-bottom jeans and a bright yellow t-shirt with something completely girly written on it.

"Hello, Karin," Aaron said with a slight distasteful sound in his voice.

"It's a surprise to see you back here, little bro," Karin said as she got off her brother.

"Trust me, I didn't come here to see you. I was hoping you wouldn't be here," Aaron said as he stood back up.

"Uh-huh, sure," Karin said.

Then Karin noticed Misty just standing there.

"Hm? And who are you?" Karin asked.

"Wow, your memory sucks, Karin. That's Misty, my old friend," Aaron said.

Karin just took a closer look at Misty, causing the red-head's eye to twitch after remembering what Karin used to do to her when they were younger.

"Now I remember you. You're the one who had such a huge fear of bugs, aren't you," Karin said.

"Yeah, what about it?" Misty asked.

"Heh," Karin said as she flicked Misty's nose.

Misty quickly put her hands over her nose and Aaron pushed Karin away from Misty.

"Alright Karin, what do you want?" Aaron asked.

"What? Is it wrong for me to want to see my little brother after you left without saying good-bye to your dear older sister?" Karin asked.

"You know very well why I didn't. You tortured me and Misty when we were kids," Aaron said.

"Ah, yes. That was so much fun," Karin said as she remembered those moments. "By the way, are you going to be stopping home any time soon?"

"Why do you want to know?" Aaron asked.

"I'm sure mom and dad would be glad to see you," Karin said. "Well, gotta go now. Ciao, baby brother."

Karin then casually walked off as Aaron's eye started to twitch.

"I've always disliked her for that," Aaron said.

"She seems a lot like my sisters now than she used to," Misty said as she rubbed her nose from Karin flicking it.

"Hey, maybe my sister became friends with yours," Aaron thought aloud.

"Bleh. That would be a nightmare," Misty said in disgust.

"Well, I think I will go see my parents for a bit. Want to come with me, Misty? It'll prolong how long it takes you to get to the gym," Aaron offered.

"Sure. Anything to keep me away from there as long as I can," Misty agreed.

Aaron smiled and the two of them continued walking through to city until they stood in front of a red house with a blue roof **(A/N: This was just something completely random. If anyone dislikes the color combination, please don't blame me.)**.

"Can't believe it's been almost a month since I've left," Aaron said.

"What? You've only been gone from here for a month?" Misty said.

"Yeah. My parents kept me here as a way of "keeping me safe", or so they kept telling me. If anything, leaving was the safest thing for me to do," Aaron said as his sister popped into his head.

"I understand," Misty said with a quiet giggle.

Aaron walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Coming," the two trainers heard a feminine voice call.

Aaron and Misty then heard footsteps approach the door and the locks unlocking. The door opened and a middle-aged woman stood at the door. She stared at Aaron and didn't seem to be able to speak.

"Hi, mom," Aaron said.

"Oh, Aaron," the woman greeted and hugged her son. "It's so good to see you."

"It's only been a month, mom. It's not like I was gone for a year," Aaron said as he hugged his mother back.

The mother and son then separated and the woman noticed Misty just standing there.

"Oh. Aaron, who is this?" the woman asked.

"So you also forgot," Aaron said with a sweatdrop. "This is Misty."

"Misty? Oh, now I remember. How have you been, dear?" the woman asked the red-head.

"I've been doing well, ma'am," Misty answered with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Come in and I'll get you a little something to eat," Aaron's mother offered.

"You want anything Misty?" Aaron asked.

"Sure," Misty said, but then whispered in Aaron's ear. "Anything to keep me away from the gym."

"Of course," Aaron said with a chuckle.

The two of them walked into the house, but there seemed to be something missing.

"Hey, mom? Where's dad?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, he isn't home right now," the woman answered.

'_Of course,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Whoa, I haven't been here in so long. It still looks nice from what I remember," Misty said as she looked around.

"Hey, mom? I'm going to go to my room for a bit and grab a few things," Aaron said as he went upstairs.

He walked into his room, which was the second door on the right. He frowned a bit as he looked at how clean the room was.

'_I guess mom decided to clean my room while I was gone,_' Aaron thought to himself. '_That's just going to make it harder to find what I'm looking for._'

Aaron first walked over to his closet and opened it, seeing everything neatly put away. Exactly the opposite of how he usually has it.

"Now where could it be?" Aaron asked himself as he started digging into his closet.

He had to move a lot of his stuff over until he found the first object he was looking for.

"There we go. Now come here, you," Aaron said to himself as he reached down and grabbed the handle of the object.

He started pulling on the handle until he was able to get it out from under the other things in his closet. What he had pulled out was a gray backpack, which was rather spacious despite its size.

"Alright, that's one down," Aaron said, but then he heard something hit the ground. "Huh?"

Aaron then looked up in his closet and sweatdropped as the objects that were on top of his backpack started tipping over.

'_Well this is going to hurt,_' Aaron thought to himself as the objects toppled onto him. "WHOA!"

Misty and Aaron's mom heard a crashing sound from Aaron's room.

"Aaron, you ok up there?!" Aaron's mom asked from in the kitchen.

Aaron crawled out from under the objects that spilled out of his closet.

"I'm fine, mom!" Aaron answered.

Aaron then stood up and dusted himself off after making sure he still had his backpack.

"Ok, now for some stuff to take," Aaron said to himself.

The brown-haired boy walked around his room, having to pull everything out and make a mess in order to find what he needed, which would include a sleeping bag, a pillow, a fishing rod with lures and bait, some water canteens, swim trunks despite the fact he can't swim that well, and he also took this time to switch out his worn sneakers for a pair of black runners and grabbed other essentials like casual shorts in case it got warm and some deodorant among other things that he'd need.

"Alright, that should do it," Aaron said to himself.

As Aaron was about to leave his room, he saw his red jacket hanging on the wall.

'_Hm... I may need this,_' Aaron thought to himself.

He grabbed the jacket and put it on. It was a short-sleeved jacket similar to Ash's, but without the flipped-up collar part. The entire jacket was a crimson red color and had two pockets on the outside just like a usual jacket, but also had a few pockets on the inside. Aaron left the jacket open, however, since he thought it would be too warm to have it done up. He then walked out of his room and headed downstairs with his backpack on. His mother noticed this.

"Aaron, are you leaving again?" the woman asked.

"Sorry mom, but I told Misty I'd go along with her. After all, I haven't seen her in about 2 years. Plus I need to be sure that a certain someone else in our group pays her back," Aaron answered.

"Guess it can't be helped. But I'm glad you at least stopped by to visit," his mom said.

"Thanks, mom," Aaron said, and then he looked at Misty, almost regretting to say his next line. "Ready to go, Misty?"

"Yeah," Misty said, a little bit of depression in her voice since she wasn't able to put off going to the gym any longer, but she knew she had to return there at some point.

Misty then got up and noticed Aaron's jacket.

"Hey, Aaron? Where'd you get the jacket?" Misty asked.

"Hm? You mean this?" Aaron asked, opening his jacket a bit. "I've had it for a while. I just forgot to take it with me when I left last month. I thought I might need it in case it got cold, so I grabbed it on my way out of my room. You like it?"

"It looks... nice," Misty said, though for some strange reason she felt a slight blush on her face.

Once Misty returned to her senses and shook off the blush, she and Aaron headed for the door.

"Sorry I had to leave so soon, mom. But we have to go meet up with our other friends," Aaron said.

"It's alright. It's just a shame your father isn't here. I'm sure he'd like to know how well you're taking care of that Tentacool," his mother said.

Aaron just nodded.

"I'll be sure to stop by the next time we're in town," Aaron said. '_Though I'm not sure how long that will be._'

Aaron and Misty then walked out the front door and Aaron closed it behind him.

"I'm sorry we couldn't stay any longer, Misty," Aaron said.

"No, I'm sorry. If my sisters weren't the Gym Leaders, we could've stayed a bit longer," Misty apologized.

"Well, guess we can't wait any longer. If we don't get there soon, your sisters might just give Ash a badge without battling him," Aaron said.

"What?! They'd actually do that?!" Misty yelled.

"Not sure, but I wouldn't put it past them," Aaron answered.

"Then what are we waiting for? We have to get going!" Misty said as she ran towards the gym with Aaron right behind her.

It didn't take very long for the two trainers to reach the Cerulean Gym and they had just seen Ash walk in through the front door.

"That's not good. Ash might see us if we go through the front," Aaron said.

"Don't worry, I can get us in through the back entrance," Misty said.

"Good thinking," Aaron said.

The two of them walked around to the back of the gym and slipped through the doors. Misty then led Aaron to the pool area where they overheard some people talking.

"You mean, all you have is a Goldeen?" the two trainers heard someone say and knew it was Ash's voice.

"If it would evolve into Seaking, we could use it, but all it can do now is its Horn Attack," Misty and Aaron heard someone say and Misty knew it was her sister Violet.

The two trainers slowly and quietly walked into the room and into the stands so they wouldn't be seen.

"So, like, there's no point in battling," the blonde sister said, which Misty knew was Daisy.

"Now, instead of having matches, we have time to make ourselves look even more beautiful than ever," said the girl with pink hair, which was Misty's other sister Lily.

"Ahh…" was all Ash could say since he didn't really have anything to say, though he was disappointed he couldn't have a match.

"I know what you want…" Daisy said before clapping her hands while turning to face the pool. "Seel!"

Misty's eye started to twitch as what Aaron said her sisters might do was actually happening. From in the pool, a white Pokémon with a horn on its head swam out. Seel then jumped out of the pool in front of Daisy.

"Seel," the Pokémon said as it stuck out its tongue, revealing a Cascade Badge.

Daisy grabbed the badge off of Seel's tongue and held it in front of Ash.

"A Cascade Badge. This is what you want, right?" Daisy asked. "You can have it."

Seeing this, Misty's face was practically red with anger. Aaron knew that trying to calm her down now would result in her yelling her head off and giving them away.

"Thanks… I-I'd rather _earn_ my badges," Ash said, and this caused Misty to calm down a bit since Ash admitted he'd never take a badge without a battle.

"Take it. A badge is a badge," Daisy insisted, which ended up making Misty angrier.

Ash just sighed and walked up to Daisy.

"Here," the blonde girl said as she handed her badge to Ash.

Just when Ash was about to grab the badge, Misty stood up.

"Hold it! Right there!" Misty yelled out and, seeing no further reason to hide anymore, Aaron stood up as well.

Ash, Daisy, Violet and Lily turned and looked up at Misty and Aaron.

"Misty? Aaron?" Ash said, wondering why they were there.

Misty then jumped from where she was standing and landed between Ash and Daisy. Aaron whistled as Misty landed perfectly on her feet, then he walked down to the bench closest to the railing.

"All right, Daisy. If you don't want to battle him, I will," Misty said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"I'm a Cerulean City trainer, too," Misty admitted to Ash.

"Huh?!" Ash said in amazement.

"I'm the fourth Sensational Sister," Misty said, but Lily cut in.

"There are only three Sensational Sisters… and one runt," Lily said, earning Misty to growl at her older sister.

"Misty isn't a runt!" Aaron yelled from where he was sitting, causing the five people below him to look up at him, and now he was thinking why he had said that out loud and a small blush appeared on his face.

Ash, Daisy, Violet and Lily seemed to ignore Aaron, but Misty got a small light blush on her face from Aaron's comment.

"So, little sister, it's a surprise to see you back so soon," Daisy said.

"That little girl with the big mouth who said she wouldn't come back till she was a great Pokémon trainer," Violet added in. "Wasn't that you?"

"Huh? I guess I did say something like that when I left…" Misty said.

"So that's why Misty was so dead set against coming here," Ash said to his Pikachu.

"Misty, you left here pretending you want to become a Pokémon trainer because you couldn't compare with us, because we're obviously much more talented and beautiful than you are!" Lily said.

Aaron would be lying if he said he didn't want to say something. He just chose to keep his mouth shut this time as not to embarrass Misty or himself.

"Uh-oh," was all Ash said.

"That wasn't the reason!" Misty shouted at her sisters.

"Well then, I guess, like, you came back because you couldn't make it as a Pokémon trainer," Daisy figured.

"It wasn't my idea to come back here," Misty said before turning to face Ash. "The only reason I'm here is because he wanted to come."

"Well, he's totally not someone I'd choose for a boyfriend," Daisy said, which caused Aaron's eye to twitch for reasons beyond himself at the moment and caused Ash to do a classic anime-style fall. "But you're no prize yourself."

For some reason, Aaron felt like standing up and shouting at Daisy about that last comment towards Misty, though he had no idea why and had to use all his will-power to stay put, though he did decide to say something.

"She only followed him here because he destroyed her bike and she wants to make sure he pays her back," Aaron said aloud.

Misty and her sisters looked up at Aaron again.

"Is that true, Misty?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, it is," Misty answered.

"And just who's that guy up there anyway?" Daisy asked.

"Don't tell me you don't remember him. That's Aaron. Remember? He's that one who got that disgusting bug off my head that you put there 6 years ago," Misty answered.

"Oh, so he's that little friend of yours from way back then. He sure has grown, that's for sure," Lily said, earning a slight blush from Aaron as he scratched his nose and turned to look away.

"Don't start hitting on my friends!" Misty yelled at her sister. "Anyway, since neither of you want to battle Ash, I'll do it and prove I'm not a quitter, and I'm just as good a trainer as you three!"

"Well, you are the only one of us with a Pokémon that can actually battle," Daisy admitted.

"All right, Ash, are you ready to rumble?" Misty asked Ash.

"Uh…" was all Ash could get out since he was completely nervous from Misty's attitude and having been caught in the middle of an argument between Misty and her sisters.

Ash and Misty then stood on platforms on either side of the pool while Aaron just sat in the stands and watched.

'_This should be a good match,_' Aaron thought to himself, but then directed his attention to Ash's Pikachu. '_But if Pikachu is sent in to battle, it'll be over in an instant._'

"I wasn't planning on challenging you till you paid me back for my bike, but this is as good a time as any!" Misty yelled at Ash. "If you want that Cascade Badge, you're gonna have to beat me!"

"It'll be my pleasure!" Ash said, accepting the challenge, then he looked down at his electric Pokémon. "Pikachu, this one's gonna be a piece of cake."

"Chuu…" Pikachu replied in a disappointed manner, wondering why its two Human friends had to fight.

"So, how many Pokémon?" Ash asked Misty.

"2 against 2 works for me," Misty answered.

"You got it," Ash said before picking up Pikachu. "All right then, Pikachu. I choose you!"

Ash attempted to throw Pikachu, but the yellow mouse clung onto Ash's arm for dear life.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he saw Pikachu was still in his hand. "Pikachu, what are you doing?"

"Chuu… Chuu…" was all Pikachu said as it pointed at Misty and shook its head.

"Oh, what? Are you saying you don't want to battle with Misty?" Ash asked his Pokémon, to which Pikachu just nodded. "Well, I guess it's ok if you don't want to battle a friend."

Aaron let out a quiet sigh when Pikachu disagreed to fight Misty.

'_At least Misty will have an advantage,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Pikachu, you're a Pika-pal!" Misty called out to Ash's electric rodent, to which Pikachu cheered up a bit.

"Thanks a lot, Pikachu," Ash said as he grabbed another PokéBall.

Ash then twisted his hat around and threw the PokéBall in his hand.

"Butterfree! I choose you!" Ash called out.

The ball opened and the white light inside materialized into Ash's Bug Pokémon.

"Well, in that case," Misty said as she grabbed her own PokéBall. "Misty calls… Staryu."

Misty threw her PokéBall and Staryu appears on one of the platforms.

"Hyah," the star-shaped Pokémon said.

"Huh?" As wondered, taking out his Pokédex and pointing it at Staryu.

"Staryu-- The core of this Water Pokémon shines in a rainbow of 7 colors. A core that is valued by some as a type of jewelry," the Pokédex said.

"Uh. Wow," was all Ash could say as he looked up at Staryu. "Leave it to a girl to show off her jewelry."

"Quit stalling and let's get this show on the road," Misty shouted.

"Do you think Misty could really win?" Violet asked.

"Like, in her dreams, maybe," Lily replied.

"Nah. Misty will definitely win. I'm sure of it," Aaron said to himself.

"Butterfree, you can blow that thing away with one blast. Tackle it!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Butterfree just dove at Staryu and hit it dead-on, knocking the star-shaped Pokémon on its back.

"Staryu, counterattack!" Misty said.

Staryu jumped back up and jumped towards Butterfree as it began to spin.

"Butterfree, dodge!" Ash told his Bug Pokémon.

Butterfree just jumped over Staryu, evading its attack. Staryu landed on another platform and almost lost its balance. Butterfree then charged at Staryu and hit it from behind with a Tackle attack, then turned around and hit Staryu again.

"Ha ha! I'm gonna win this!" Ash cheered to himself.

Aaron then put his hands over his mouth.

"Come on, Staryu! You can do it!" Aaron cheered.

"Hey, you're supposed to be cheering for your friends!" Ash shouted at Aaron.

"I am! Misty's my oldest and closest friend, so I'm cheering for her!" Aaron shouted back at Ash.

"Thanks, Aaron!" Misty said to her friend, then turned her attention back to the battle. "Staryu! Water Gun!"

Staryu then jumped into the pool and fired a blast of water at Butterfree, which hit its mark. Staryu then jumped back up onto the platform and continued to fire a barrage of Water Guns at the Bug/Flying Pokémon, which Butterfree dodged every time.

"In that case, Stun Spore, now," Ash ordered his Pokémon.

Butterfree flew over Staryu and sprinkled yellow powder from its wings onto the Water Pokémon below it. Staryu immediately felt the effect of the attack and started to lose balance.

"Oh, no! Staryu looks like it's in real pain!" Misty said, worried for her Pokémon.

"It doesn't even have a face! How can you tell?" Ash asked rather rudely.

"Because I'm sensitive to others' feelings, that's how," Misty answered.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm not?" Ash said.

Seel just started clapping, apparently finding the argument amusing.

"Which side are you clapping for?" Violet asked the white Pokémon.

"Staryu! Wash it off!" Misty told her Pokémon.

Staryu inched itself closer to the edge of the platform before finally falling in. The Water Pokémon then jumped back out and felt completely fine, raising what would be its arms if it were a humanoid Pokémon.

"Yay! Too bad you didn't know that Stun Spore doesn't work if you wash it off in water," Misty said as though claiming an early victory.

"She thinks she knows everything. Butterfree, Sleep Powder!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Butterfree started to sprinkle a blue powder-like substance from its wings over Staryu just like it did with Stun Spore, but Staryu jumped into the pool before the attack could touch it.

"Tackle it from underwater!" Misty requested of her Pokémon.

Staryu then jumped out of the water and started spinning as it headed for Butterfree, hitting its mark. Staryu continued to do this, but now Butterfree was jumping over the attack every time.

"If Staryu can get Butterfree underwater, I win!" Misty said to herself as she let Staryu continue its attack. "Water Pokémon always have the edge in the water!"

Misty then started to laugh a kind of victory laugh, causing Ash to growl at her. Pikachu cheered for Misty, causing Ash to turn his attention to the yellow Pokémon.

"Pikachu, you're supposed to be on my side!" Ash said to his Pokémon.

"Misty's totally awesome," Daisy admitted.

"Well, we three got the good looks in the family, so I guess she had to get _some_ talent," Lily said.

Aaron overheard this comment and for some strange reason wanted to yell at Lily, though he had no idea why. But once again he kept quiet so he wouldn't distract Misty from her battle. As for Staryu, the Water Pokémon continued its attack until it finally hit Butterfree, causing it to fall into a pool. And being a Bug/Flying Pokémon, the powder substance on it wings became soaked; making it impossible for Butterfree to fly for the rest of the match, meaning it had lost the fight.

"Ooh! Butterfree, return!" Ash said, recalling his Pokémon to its PokéBall.

Ash then put Butterfree's PokéBall back on his belt and grabbed another PokéBall.

"Pudgeotto, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw the PokéBall.

The Bird Pokémon materialized from the white light.

"Oh, yeah? Staryu, return!" Misty said, returning her Water Pokémon to its ball.

"Good strategy, Misty!" Aaron cheered. '_Letting Staryu rest for a bit is a good tactic, just in case Ash beats her next Pokémon, then Staryu will have rested enough to beat Pidgeotto._'

Misty then grabbed another PokéBall and threw it.

"Misty calls…" Misty started as she threw the ball. "Starmie!"

The ball opened to reveal a purple version of Staryu, but in truth was Staryu's evolved form and also had the secondary Psychic type as well as being a Water-type.

"Pidgeotto, Whirlwind it away!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Pidgeotto flapped its wings as fast as it could, creating a strong blast of wind, which slowly pushed Starmie back.

"Dive under, then up!" Misty said to her Pokémon.

Starmie then jumped to the side, escaping the powerful wind attack and then jumped out of the water while spinning as it sped right for Pidgeotto. The Bird Pokémon was hit with the first strike.

"Strike back with Wing Attack!" Ash said.

Starmie came flying back at Pidgeotto for another hit, but Pidgeotto just whacked it with its wing, sending the Water/Psychic Pokémon into the water below. But Starmie wasn't going to give up so soon. It jumped back out of the water, still spinning, and hit Pidgeotto again.

"Give it a Gust to blow it away!" Ash ordered his Pokémon.

As Starmie turned around for another attack, Pidgeotto started flapping its wings, making a power gust of wind and sending the Water/Psychic Pokémon flying into a wall.

"Starmie!" Misty called out to her Pokémon.

The crystal core of the Pokémon started to blink, indicating it had little strength left.

"Oh, no! Starmie's energy is about to run out!" Misty said in worry.

"Misty! If you switch out you can still win!" Aaron reminded Misty. '_Staryu _must_ be rested enough to take out Pidgeotto._'

"All right, Pidgeotto, let's get that trainer badge!" Ash told his Pokémon, already declaring victory.

But then there was a rumbling sound outside the gym, which caused everyone to direct their attention to one of the walls. Aaron had gotten up and jumped down from the stands. The wall started to crack as a giant machine burst through the wall.

"Check out that hair," Violet said, apparently trying to make fun of either Jessie or James while Ash and Misty recalled their Pokémon and rejoined Aaron, Daisy, Violet and Lily.

"Like, who invited the party crashers?" Daisy wondered.

"Sorry to break in on you ladies," Jessie said.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," James said.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said as he jumped down from the top of the machine.

"The Water Pokémon have the advantage," James said.

"But if we steal that water away…" Jessie started.

"The Pokémon are ours for the taking!" James finished.

"And Meowth knows just how to do it!" Meowth said.

"What are they trying to prove?" one of Misty's sisters wondered **(A/N: The scene had the character's backs at the screen, so I didn't know which one said this line.)**.

"Huh?" is what Misty, Aaron, Ash, Daisy, Violet and Lily wondered when some kind of giant hose shot out from the giant machine and straight into the pool.

The machine then started up and the hose began to suck up the water.

"A massive vacuum and a giant hose," Ash said, remembering what he had been told prior to arriving at the gym. "Team Rocket were the robbers who broke into that store back there! I should have known it was them!"

Aaron just raised an eyebrow towards Ash, wondering what he was talking about, but decided against asking since Team Rocket had to be stopped.

"Our swimming pool!" Daisy yelled out as she watched it get sucked up.

"They're sucking it dry!" Misty shouted.

"That's our water!" Lily said.

"Right… I should give it back," Meowth said as he flipped the switch down, causing the hose to lift out of the water.

Aaron figured what was going to happen next and did the first thing that came into his head. He grabbed Misty and held her down to make sure she wouldn't get pulled into the water once the hose shot a large blast of the water at all six of them.

"We've got to save the Pokémon!" Aaron shouted as he held on to Misty, swearing in his head that he wouldn't let her go, though he had no idea why.

"Like, what about my hair?" Violet argued, figuring her beauty was more important than Pokémon.

"All right! Now's the time to suck 'em up!" Meowth said as he flipped the switch back up.

The hose went back down into the water and started to drain the pool again.

"Are you ok, Misty?" Aaron asked as he helped Misty back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Misty answered as she coughed up a bit of water.

Aaron then stood up and grabbed one of his PokéBalls, holding it tightly to make sure it wouldn't fall into the pool and get sucked it. Unfortunately, Seel had fallen into the water and was now heading right for the hose.

"Ah! Come back, Seel!" Violet called out.

"I got it! Tentacool, help Seel!" Aaron called out as he threw his PokéBall.

Tentacool appeared from within the ball and wrapped one of its tentacles around the white Pokémon and then wrapping the other around the railing of a nearby pool ladder. Aaron and Misty then rushed over and pulled Tentacool and Seel out of the water.

"Whew. That was a close one," Aaron laughed as he and Misty smiled at each other, though his heart was racing a bit, but he figured it was just from having to rush to get Tentacool and Seel before they were sucked up.

"Oh, Pikachu…" Ash said as Pikachu was dangerously close to the edge of the pool.

The water then caught Pikachu as it was being drained and it pulled Pikachu towards the hose.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out.

"Hey, wait a second… Water conducts electricity," Ash said aloud, which Aaron had heard.

"Let's move away from the pool, Misty," Aaron said as he gently grabbed her arm and they moved away from the edge of the pool.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash called out to Pikachu.

"Pi-Ka-Chuu!" Pikachu cried out, letting out a strong blast of electricity that went up the hose and straight to the giant vacuum machine and electrocuted Team Rocket.

"It's times like these that make me want to go straight," James said once Pikachu's attack was finished and before himself, Jessie and Meowth fell into the water to be sucked up by the very machine they were using. "Now I know how it feels to be all washed up."

"We'll never come clean," Jessie said.

The three members of Team Rocket were sucked up by the hose and shot out the back of the vacuum.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" the three of them shouted as they were sent flying through the sky once more.

However, the vacuum was still sucking in Pikachu.

"Oh, no!" Daisy shouted.

"Pikachu!" Misty cried out.

Ash ran around the pool towards the vacuum. Pikachu was then pulled under the water and just as it was entering the hose, Ash jumped onto the vacuum.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as he jumped for the lever, pulling it down.

The hose then rose out of the pool and shot Pikachu back out. The small electric rodent flew through the air until it landed in Daisy's arms. Once the event that took place had ended, everyone calmed down a bit.

"Hey, we never got to finish our match," Misty realized.

"Yeah…" Ash agreed. "And I was just about to win it, too."

"What?" Misty asked.

"You could say your match had to be postponed, like, due to… drain," Violet said at an attempt to make a joke.

"At least nobody lost," Lily said.

"I wanted to win," Misty said.

"I guess I'm not gonna get that Cascade Badge," Ash said, rather disappointed.

"Wrong," Daisy said. "We're giving this badge to you."

Daisy then held out the badge to Ash.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"How come he gets the badge? He didn't win!" Misty argued.

"Pikachu was the one that, like, totally saved us all. And if he'd used Pikachu from the start, there was no way your Water Pokémon could've won," Daisy replied.

"True, but Pikachu didn't want to fight. And sure, Pidgeotto beat Starmie, but Staryu had beaten Butterfree. Since Staryu had time to rest and regain its strength, it could've easily beaten Pidgeotto," Aaron cut in, but no one was listening.

At least, he thought no one was listening. While Ash, Daisy, Violet and Lily were talking, Misty shot a quick smile at Aaron.

"Take the badge, Ash. You deserve it," Daisy said, handing Ash the Cascade Badge.

"Gee, thanks," Ash said, accepting the badge. "Ha ha! I'll take it!"

Aaron, Misty and Ash then walked out the front doors of the gym followed by Daisy, Violet and Lily.

"Misty, you just go right on trying to be a Pokémon trainer," Lily said. "You might as well be good at something, 'cause you'll never be stars like us."

"You keep that up, and you'll be _seeing_ stars!" Misty shouted, earning a quiet laugh from Aaron.

"Chill out," Violet said, trying to calm down her little sister.

"Misty, be careful. You know we love you," Daisy said.

"Yeah," Misty said.

"Ash! Hey, man!" the three trainers heard someone say.

They turned around and saw Brock running towards them.

"Yo, Brock-o!" Ash said.

"How'd it go?" Brock asked.

"See for yourself," Ash answered, showing Brock his new badge.

"Cool! Let's go," Brock said as he turned around and started walking away from the gym.

"Right," Ash said in agreement.

"You're not leaving without me!" Misty yelled towards Ash and Brock.

Aaron just casually shrugged his shoulders as he followed right behind Misty.

"Misty, you're not gonna be a sore loser, are you?" Ash asked tauntingly.

"I didn't lose anything. It was a draw," Misty argued.

"Well, I'm the one who got the badge," Ash argued back.

"What? You know you lost with Butterfree!" Misty countered.

"That was just round one! I made a great comeback!" Ash countered back.

"If Team Rocket hadn't busted in, I would've destroyed you," Misty yelled.

"You're lucky they showed up. You were about to lose," Ash yelled back.

"Lose? I was just getting started."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Oh, brother!" Brock sighed as the four trainers walked towards the exit of Cerulean City.

But once Ash and Misty finished arguing, Misty slowed down a bit to walk beside Aaron.

"Hey, thanks for cheering me on," she thanked him.

"Of course. You're my best friend, and since we're both Cerulean trainers, we gotta stick together," Aaron said.

"And you know, you were completely right, as much as Ash wants to deny it," Misty said.

"Hm? Right about what?" Aaron asked.

"If I _had_ sent out Staryu before Team Rocket showed up, I would've won," Misty said.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who realized that," Aaron laughed.

* * *

**Me: Alright, and another chapter done.**

**Ash: Hey, you said we'd be learning more about Misty's and Aaron's past. All you brought in was Aaron's sister and mom.**

**Me: I didn't really have this chapter planned out too well.**

**Brock: Sister? I didn't know Aaron had a sister.**

**Aaron: That's because she's someone I try to stay away from.**

**Misty: Karin is 4 years older than you, right Aaron?**

**Aaron: Yeah. So she'd be 19 right now.**

**Brock: Think I could meet her?**

**Aaron: Uh... I doubt that. But it was nice to be home, if only to visit my mother. But it sucks dad wasn't there. Oh well.**

***Notices Aaron and Misty start to exchange quick glances at each other, though always when the other isn't looking***

**Me: *to self* This should be interesting.**

**Me: *out loud* Hey, Aaron. How about you do the closer since you're the only one who hasn't yet.**

**Aaron: Sure. Please R&R, everyone.**


	5. The Path To The Pokémon League

**Me: *Tired* Hey guys.**

**Ash: What the? I thought you said you'd only update once a week? This is the next day!**

**Me: Hey, don't blame me for having sleeping problems. I don't know why, but I keep waking up at 6 in the morning when I have to work at 6 in the evening and get off work at around midnight. Leaving me with 6 hours of sleep at the most. And it seems that no matter how late I fall asleep at, I still wake up at 6 in the morning.**

**Misty: Aww. Well I hope you're able to sleep better soon, AzureKite4.**

**Me: Thanks, Misty. But due to this, I may end up having to put up the new chapters once a day instead of once a week. Sorry everyone.**

**Brock: It's okay. We understand.**

**Aaron: Though I think once you're able to sleep better, you should start uploading once a week instead of once a day.**

**Me: Sure thing. I think I'll go see a doctor to find out what's wrong with me first.**

**Brock: That's a good idea.**

**Me: Alright, time for the disclaimer. I do NOT own Pokémon, and I am proud that I don't.**

* * *

-Chapter 5: Episode 8: The Path To The Pokémon League-

After having won the Cascade Badge from the Cerulean Gym, Ash, along with Misty, Aaron and Brock, continues his journey. Unfortunately, Ash had no idea where their next destination was.

"Where are we going again?" Ash asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Vermilion City," Misty said. "It's got a luxury cruise ship, and I'm dying to see it."

"We won't have time for sightseeing," Ash said.

"I heard that there's a really great gym in Vermilion," Brock pointed out.

"A gym. All right. I'm gonna win my third badge," Ash said, getting pumped up.

"So that means there _will_ be time for sightseeing for the three of us," Aaron said, motioning to himself, Misty and Brock. "While you go for your gym battle."

"Let's go!" Ash shouted as he started to run as fast as he could in the direction of Vermilion City.

"Don't get your hopes up," Misty said. "There are a lot of tough trainers around here."

"Ah, bring 'em on. I bet none of them has even one Pokémon badge," Ash said as he kept running.

"He'll never learn," Aaron said with a sigh.

After running to catch up with Ash, the three trainers found him already in a battle with someone, so they decided to watch. Pidgeotto flew in there air, about to strike it's opponent, which was a Rattata.

"Pidgeotto, finish it!" Ash told his Pokémon.

The Bird Pokémon dove down and struck the Rattata with its talons, knocking it backwards and causing it to faint.

"Oh, Rattata!" Ash's opponent call out as his Pokémon was beaten.

"And I win!" Ash shouted as he struck a pose with his fingers in a "V for victory" pose. "That's number 10!"

"He's getting all worked up over 10 wins," Aaron muttered.

"You're a really great Pokémon trainer," Ash's opponent said as they shook hands.

"Well, I guess I was pretty good there," Ash said as he opened the side of his jacket, showing his two badges.

"Wow! You've got badges!" the boy said, admiring Ash's badges.

"Oh? You mean these?" Ash gloated.

"You've got two!" the boy said, rather impressed.

"I think giving him those badges was a mistake," Misty said, earning a nod in agreement from Brock.

"He just likes to show-off," Aaron added in.

"I bet you could even beat A.J.," the boy said.

"A.J.?" Ash repeated.

"Yeah, he lives over there," the boy said as he pointed behind himself. "A.J. trains savage Pokémon. He built his own gym. He's never lost a single match."

"Until now," Ash said, increasing his own ego. "He hasn't come up against somebody like me."

"He's getting a big head," Misty said while sweatdropping.

"Yeah, but his brain's still the same size," Brock added, also sweatdropping.

"You'd think he'd learn that being overconfident is a bad thing," Aaron said, sweatdropping as well.

After a final decision from Ash to go to A.J.'s gym, the four trainers arrived and stood in front of the large wooden doors. They looked up and saw the sign that hung over the entrance. The sign read 98 wins and 0 losses.

"Look at that. This gym isn't even licensed by the Pokémon League," Ash said. "Undefeated. Big deal! I can beat him."

"98 wins in a row," Misty said in awe.

"You may have won 10 battles, Ash, but he's won almost 10 times more matches than you," Aaron added.

"I go for quality, not quantity," Ash shouted at Aaron, who just ignored it.

The four of them then heard someone walk towards them.

"Are you my next victims?" a voice asked the group.

The four trainers turned to see a boy with spiky, dark green hair, blue shorts, a black and red t-shirt, and carrying a light-blue backpack.

"You must be the Wild Pokémon trainer," Ash assumed.

"Huh! That's my job, but beating chumps like you is my hobby," A.J. said. "Ready to lose?"

The giant doors slowly swung open and the five of them walked in. Behind the doors were a decent-sized battle stage and a massive training tent.

"Wow!" Ash said, rather impressed.

"Now, this is not too shabby at all," Misty said.

"I gotta say, not bad," Aaron agreed.

A.J. took off his backpack and laid it on the ground. A Butterfree then flew towards the five trainers and picked up the bag, carrying it towards the tent.

"What's in the backpack?" Ash asked.

"The Wild Pokémon I just caught. There's a whole bunch for in the tent and then some," A.J. answered.

"Hey, can I see them after the match?" Ash asked.

"If you want," A.J. said as he walked up the steps to the stage, not really caring whether they saw his Pokémon or not. "So, which Pokémon are you going to choose for my 99th win?"

"99th?" Ash repeated, but then got a serious look on his face.

Ash took his place opposite of A.J. while Misty, Aaron and Brock stood back to watch.

"I'm afraid you're gonna have to change your sign after this match. You'll be formerly undefeated," Ash said, getting rather cocky.

"You may think that you're hot stuff, kid," A.J. said as he held a brown whip in his hands. "But you're not playing in the Pokémon Little League anymore."

A.J. cracked his whip at Ash's feet, causing the raven-haired trainer to jump back a bit.

"After I win 100 matches in a row, I'll start competing for badges," A.J. announced.

"That means he's only 2 wins away," Brock said.

"And he'll be extra-psyched to win!" Misty added with Aaron nodding in agreement.

"98 wins and you still don't have a badge? That's tough luck, A.J.," Ash said before opening the side of his jacket to reveal his two badges. "I have 10 wins, and I've won two Pokémon badges."

"Did you buy those badges or steal 'em? Either that or you competed in some loser gyms. Where were they, Failure City or Wimpsville?" A.J. asked tauntingly.

This earned a rise in anger from Misty, Aaron and Brock. Sure, Aaron wasn't a Gym Leader, but Misty was the Gym Leader of Cerulean City and he was from there as well, so Aaron was practically insulted three times by A.J.

"What do you mean "Loser Gyms"?" Misty shouted.

"Hey, Ash, pulverize this guy," Brock said.

"Hang on," Aaron cut in, getting the attention of his three friends.

"Huh? What is it?" Ash asked.

"Ash, mind if I battle him first? No one insults Cerulean City, the Cerulean Gym, _or_ Misty in front of me and gets away with it," Aaron answered while growling.

"Uh… alright then," Ash said as he saw the anger in Aaron's eyes.

Ash stepped down from the stage and Aaron walked up.

"What's the matter? Gotta have someone else fight your battles for you?" A.J. asked Ash.

"No, I'm not fighting for him. You disrespected Misty _and_ Cerulean City. For that, I'm going to make sure you eat dirt," Aaron answered in Ash's place.

"Whoa, I've never seen Aaron like this," Misty said.

"I guess it had to do with what A.J. said that pushed him this far," Brock suggested.

"Alright then, I'd be glad to embarrass you in front of your little girlfriend," A.J. said.

"He's just a close friend!" Misty shouted, but Aaron didn't answer since he was still infuriated.

"Enough talking. We'll settle this with a one-on-one match," Aaron said as he grabbed one of his PokéBalls. '_I can't send out Tentacool since there's no water around the stage. So I've got to battle with Spearow, no matter what this guy picks._'

"Suit yourself, though you'd probably have a much better chance if you used all the Pokémon you got," A.J. said as he grabbed his PokéBall. "Sandshrew, go!"

A.J. threw his PokéBall towards the field. Upon opening, a small yellowish-brown creature appeared.

"A Sandshrew? You're going to regret making that choice," Aaron said

"Stay focused, Aaron," Brock said.

"That Sandshrew looks pretty tough," Misty said, worried about her friend.

"Don't worry, I know just who to use," Aaron said, throwing his PokéBall in the air. "Let's go, Spearow!"

Aaron's PokéBall opened up and released his Tiny Bird Pokémon. A.J. just cracked his whip.

"Sandshrew, go!" A.J. commanded his Pokémon.

Sandshrew then charged forward.

"Spearow, dive in and attack with Peck!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

"Aaron is lucky. Spearow, being a Flying Pokémon, should have the advantage," Brock said.

"Come on, Aaron! Beat this guy!" Misty cheered her friend on.

A.J. just cracked his whip, at which Sandshrew jumped up, curled into a ball, and sped right at Spearow.

"Spearow, fly higher!" Aaron told his Pokémon since he noticed Sandshrew was going higher than it normally should.

Spearow did as told and dodged the attack just in time.

"Good going, Spearow!" Aaron congratulated his Pokémon.

"You just got lucky. It's not going to happen again!" A.J. shouted as he cracked his whip again.

"Oh no you don't. Spearow! Use Fury Attack!" Aaron told his Flying-type Pokémon.

Spearow dove down at Sandshrew and, just as Sandshrew jumped, Spearow started pecking at Sandshrew's exposed belly multiple times. A.J. just cracked his whip again and Sandshrew used Defense Curl as soon as it was far enough away from Spearow.

"That Sandshrew is well-trained," Brock noticed.

"He controls it with the crack of his whip-- like a lion tamer," Misty said.

'_Darn it. Since he's not announcing his attacks, I don't know what he'll do next. I need to think of something,_' Aaron thought to himself.

But before Aaron could do anything, A.J. cracked his whip again and Sandshrew bounced up and smashed right into Spearow.

"No, Spearow!" Aaron called out to his Pokémon.

Spearow fell to the ground and Sandshrew stood in front of its trainer.

"It's over," A.J. claimed.

"Man, that's got to be hard. Aaron was all worked up over defeating A.J., but his Spearow was taken down so quickly," Brock muttered.

Aaron just looked at the ground, his hair covering his eyes. But his Spearow slowly stood back up.

"Spearow!" the Tiny Bird Pokémon screeched, getting Aaron's attention.

"Spearow, you're too injured to battle! The match is over!" Aaron told his Pokémon, but the bird just shook its head. "Spearow…"

"What's it doing? Does it _want_ to get killed?" Ash wondered.

"Spearow!" the Fying Pokémon screeched out again and suddenly started to glow a bright white.

"What the?!" A.J. said in shock.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered.

"I think Spearow's evolving," Brock said.

"Spearow…" Aaron said.

Spearow's form grew several times its own size. Its wingspan also grew while its neck became longer. Five horns seemed to stick out the back of its head and its beak grew longer. When the light faded, a new Pokémon now stood where Spearow was.

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"That's a Fearow," Brock answered.

"Fearow… I see. I guess you evolved after understanding I wanted to win for Misty's sake and the sake of Cerulean City," Aaron said, to which Fearow just looked back at its trainer and let out a loud screech. "Alright then. Let's win this!"

Fearow then immediately took to the air, flying higher than it could before when it was a Spearow.

"Alright, Sandshrew. Looks like we might have a challenge after all," A.J. said, cracking his whip.

Sandshrew against ran forward.

"Fearow! Use Fury Attack!" Aaron told his Pokémon. '_With a longer beak, Fearow has a greater reach than as a Spearow. This match is mine._'

Fearow just screeched as it dove down at great speed towards Sandshrew, ready to attack with its elongated beak. But A.J. cracked his whip again and Sandshrew dug into the stage itself. Fearow stopped itself from hitting the ground and just hovered there when A.J. cracked his whip again, to which Sandshrew jumped out of the ground and struck Fearow in the back.

"Fearow, take to the sky!" Aaron said.

Fearow did as told and began to fly.

"No you don't. You're not getting away that easy!" A.J. said, cracking his whip again.

Sandshrew jumped at Fearow again, hitting the Beak Pokémon in the back again, causing Fearow to screech in pain as Sandshrew held on while both the Flying and the Ground Pokémon headed for the stage. Sandshrew held Fearow down, though Fearow had just recently evolved and wouldn't have been used to its new form yet.

"I'm not going to give up! Fearow, use Drill Peck!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

Fearow turned its head around and, thanks to its neck being longer so it could reach behind itself, its beak seemed to spin at great speed. Fearow lunged its beak at Sandshrew, but the Ground-type jumped off and Fearow ended up hitting itself with its own, and most powerful, attack, causing it to faint.

"No," Aaron said as he saw his Pokémon accidentally knock itself out.

"I guess that's it. And your Pokémon must have been pretty stupid if it attacked itself," A.J. said.

"You take that back!" Aaron shouted, but knew it was no use.

Aaron returned his new Fearow to it's PokéBall and knew he not only lost the match, but he failed Misty and Cerulean City. The number on A.J.'s sign under "W" changed from 98 to 99.

"And that makes victory number 99," A.J. said proudly as his Sandshrew cried happily.

Aaron just walked down the steps from the battle stage, took one quick look at Misty, and then started walking away.

"Wait, Aaron. Wait a second," Misty said as she ran up to Aaron when he stopped. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Misty. I battled him because, to me, he insulted you. I thought I could win and make him apologize, but even with an evolved Pokémon I couldn't win," Aaron answered.

"It's ok, Aaron. You tried your best," Misty said softly to him.

"Thanks, Misty," Aaron said as a smile appeared on his face.

"Now let's go back to the others," Misty suggested, earning a nod in agreement from Aaron.

Misty ran back over to Ash and Brock while Aaron watched her.

'_Misty's such a great friend. I'm glad I met her back in Viridian Forest again after so long,_' Aaron thought to himself as he walked over to join his friends.

Although when Aaron got back to his friends, Ash had run up to A.J. and kept begging him for a battle, but A.J. kept refusing, saying Sandshrew needed a bit of rest.

"Ash doesn't know when to quit, does he?" Misty wondered.

"That seems to be the case," Aaron said.

"That A.J. sure was strong, though. I don't get it. How is he so good?" Brock wondered since it wasn't very often that a Sandshrew beat a Fearow, even if the Fearow was newly evolved.

"Come on, let me battle you," Ash begged as A.J. and Sandshrew were walking towards the tent.

"If you're going to behave like that, then you can come back when you grow up," A.J. said as he walked away.

"It's not fair," Ash started to sulk as he watched A.J. and Sandshrew enter the tent.

Misty, Aaron and Brock then walked up to Ash as he sighed.

"Ash, you really need to stop whining," Misty said.

"I wasn't whining!" Ash shouted at her.

"Then what was all that about? Begging A.J. to battle you after he just had a match against Aaron?" Misty asked.

Aaron was about to say something when he and the other three heard something from inside the tent.

"You call that last match a fight?" the four of them heard A.J. shout.

"Huh?" all four trainers wondered.

"It's time for some serious training," A.J.'s voice could be heard saying, along with the cracking of a whip.

Aaron, Misty, Ash and Brock walked over to the tent and opened it a little to see what was going on inside. They gasped as they saw a Beedrill trying to hit a Butterfree with its spiked arms with the Butterfree dodging. Three Rattata's were also doing something. Two were jumping through hoops of fire while the third was trying to balance itself on a ball. All of the Pokémon in there seemed to be wearing some kind of device. The four trainers then saw Sandshrew jump from a diving board and right into a pool before jumping back out and spinning on the floor to dry itself off.

"Get back in the water!" A.J. shouted at Sandshrew as he cracked his whip.

"Knock it off!" Ash shouted as he charged at A.J. and the two trainers fell into the pool.

"Oh, so now that you're done crying you want a swimming match?" A.J. asked after both he and Ash surfaced.

"You're hurting Sandshrew," Ash said.

"Mind your own business," A.J. shouted at Ash. "I don't need a crybaby teaching me how to train Pokémon."

"You call that training?" Ash asked, then turned to face Sandshrew and saw it was wearing the same device as A.J.'s other Pokémon. "What's that? It looks like a straightjacket."

"That's no straightjacket, it's a strength intensifier," A.J. said as he climbed out of the water and sat at the edge of the pool.

"Who invented that thing?" Brock asked.

"I did. It's my own secret weapon for unleashing a Pokémon's powers," A.J. answered.

'_Not much of a "secret weapon" now,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Sandshrew, back in the pool!" A.J. shouted at his Ground-type Pokémon.

"But Sandshrew's are weakened by water," Ash said to A.J. as Sandshrew climbed up the diving board.

"I know that," A.J. said.

"You'll hurt it," Ash said.

"Sandshrew, dive!" A.J. told his Pokémon.

Sandshrew did as requested and jumped from the diving board right into the water. Aaron whistled at how Sandshrew hit the water with such a small splash.

"Nice dive," Misty said, impressed.

"Very nice," Aaron said in agreement.

Sandshrew then jumped back out of the pool and spun around to dry itself off again.

"Good work," A.J. said, to which Sandshrew stopped.

"The water doesn't weaken your Sandshrew?" Brock asked, seeing that A.J.'s Sandshrew was completely fine.

"You're looking at the only Sandshrew in the whole world that is strong enough to withstand water," A.J. answered.

"That's amazing," Aaron said. '_So even if I had used Tentacool, I still would've lost._'

"Sandshrew, pick up your pacing," A.J. told his Pokémon.

Sandshrew then rolled itself into a ball and the three Rattata started to pass the rolled-up Sandshrew to each other.

"Hey, wait. I thought you said "pacing", not "passing"," Ash noticed, causing Aaron, Misty and Brock to nearly fall over.

Pikachu then held up a cushion for Ash to see, which he turned his head towards his electric mouse.

"Huh? I said "padding"-- I mean, I said "pacing"," Ash told his yellow rodent, which covered its head with the cushion and walk away, then Ash returned his attention to A.J. "Why are you so tough on Sandshrew?"

"I have to be tough," A.J. answered. "But I ask no more of Sandshrew than I do of myself-- the very best."

"But you aren't nearly as tough on any of your other Pokémon," Ash said.

"That's because Sandshrew is the first Pokémon I ever caught," A.J. said as he smiled and started to remember the moment. "I'll never forget that moment. We promised to do whatever it took to become the greatest Pokémon and trainer of all time. Nothing would stop us from reaching our dream. No matter how difficult our path. Enduring fierce storms and raging winds. We've sacrificed everything to achieve our dream. And it was worth it! We are an unbeatable team."

"Well, at least I don't feel so bad about losing now," Aaron said to himself.

"What you're doing is wrong. A great trainer should make friends with his Pokémon," Ash said.

"Why should I listen to you?" A.J. asked.

"Hey, Brock. Don't you have anything to say about this?" Ash asked his squinty-eyed friend.

"I do," Brock answered, then turned to face A.J. "Your Pokémon are all in great shape. What kind of Pokémon food do you give them?"

"Ugh!" was all Ash could get out of his mouth as he fell over.

"My own recipe. Come on, I'll show you," A.J. answered.

A.J. led Brock over to a cabinet and Misty and Aaron followed him. When A.J. opened the doors to the cabinet, Misty and Aaron were in awe at how many different types of Pokémon food A.J. had for each different Pokémon.

"To get the results I want, I have to carefully monitor the Pokémon diets. Of course the recipe's secret," A.J. said as he showed the canisters of Pokémon food, each with a label specifying which Pokémon that each canister is for.

"Oh, yeah, of course. You know, I mix my own food, too. Sandshrews…" Brock carried on as Aaron walked away and checked out everything else in the tent.

Aaron then noticed Sandshrew lifting some weights and saw Pikachu attempt to lift one, but only ended up falling backwards and nearly choking itself, at which point Sandshrew helped it back up. Aaron just chuckled a bit as Pikachu tried to do Sandshrew's training. Aaron then continued to wander around, though stayed away from the pool since he wasn't that good of a swimmer. Then Aaron heard a bell go of and looked over to see a Hitmonlee figure be lowered into some sort of slot in front of the bell.

"That's kinda cool," Aaron said to himself.

"Ok, you wimps get a 15 minute break," Aaron heard A.J. say to his Pokémon.

All six of A.J.'s Pokémon were sprawled on the floor, completely exhausted. Ash just looked at all the tired-out Pokémon.

"Hey!" Ash shouted at A.J.

"Now what do you want?" A.J. asked.

"Your Pokémon are totally wiped out," Ash said, pointing out the obvious.

"You better believe it! In this gym, we live by the rule, "no pain, no gain". But judging by your little stuffed Pikachu over there, you don't follow any rules," A.J. said.

"It's not a stuffed Pikachu. Take it back," Ash demanded, but A.J. didn't answer. "Hey, did you hear me? I said, take it back!"

Ash charged at A.J. and tried to punch him, but A.J. just moved a bit to avoid the punch, though he and Ash ended up falling into a pool and started to fight. Misty, Aaron and Brock ran over towards the pool, but Aaron stayed a foot or two behind Misty and Brock.

"Don't, Ash!" Misty shouted, watching Ash and A.J. fight.

"You don't win badges for being buddy-buddy with a Pokémon," A.J. said.

"It's not a stuffed Pikachu!" Ash shouted back at A.J. as the two continued fighting.

"Knock it off, you two," Brock said.

"Isn't there a rule against splashing in the pool?" Misty tried to remind them.

"Seriously, you're both acting like little kids," Aaron said.

While Ash and A.J. were fighting, Pikachu was poking at the device Sandshrew had been wearing, which was taken off a while ago. Unfortunately, Pikachu must have touched something sensitive on the device as it latched onto Pikachu. It was too strong for the little mouse and thus forced Pikachu to curl up into a ball. Sandshrew just laughed at this and rolled itself into a ball for fun. A large red ball rolled over towards Pikachu and Sandshrew, but none of the trainers noticed this. Then two arms, holding a bag, came out of a hole in the ball and grabbed Sandshrew, pulling the Ground-type Pokémon into the red ball. The ball then lifted up and two pairs of legs broke through before they started to run with the ball still over them and they ran out of the tent. A.J. and Ash were pulled out of the pool and they tried to catch their breath.

"Why do you keep hanging around here?" A.J. asked Ash. "There must be other trainers you can bother."

"Yeah, right!" Ash said.

Aaron then heard two beeping sounds and looked over at the bell to see a Hitmonchan figure rise up and hit the bell twice before being lowered back down.

"Time's up. Back to work, all of you!" A.J. ordered his Pokémon.

A.J.'s three Rattata, his Beedrill, and his Butterfree got back up and returned to their training. A.J. then looked around but saw something, or someone, missing.

"Hey, where's Sandshrew?" A.J. wondered. "Well, that's weird."

A.J. then saw Pikachu rolled up into a ball and walked over to it.

"What's your Pikachu doing?" A.J. asked Ash.

Ash saw Pikachu curled up and walked over to check on it.

"Oh! Ohh! Pikachu!" Ash said to his Pokémon, trying to get a response.

Ash then tried to help Pikachu, but the device attached to the mouse was too strong for him.

"It's no use," Ash said.

"Here, give it to me," A.J. offered.

Ash did as A.J. asked and A.J. just unlocked the device, causing Pikachu to unroll itself.

"Pikachu, you're ok?!" Ash asked, making sure everything was alright with the rodent.

"Pikachu, have you seen Sandshrew?" A.J. asked Pikachu, to which Pikachu just shook its head. "You haven't?"

A.J. then stood up and cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Sandshrew! Where are you?" A.J. called out, hoping Sandshrew would respond.

"Maybe it ran away," Ash suggested as he stood up.

"What are you talking about?" A.J. asked.

"The way you treat your Pokémon, I'm surprised they all haven't run away," Ash answered.

"Sandshrew and I have been together for a long time," A.J. said.

"Yeah, I know, but when Sandshrew saw how well Pikachu and I get along, he thought, "I deserve better. I'll find a trainer who treats me like Ash treats Pikachu"," Ash said.

"Sandshrew would not break the promise we made. Not after all we've been through. Not just before our hundredth victory," A.J. shouted right in Ash's and Pikachu's ears, before turning to the rest of his Pokémon. "Now move it. Go find Sandshrew."

A.J.'s Pokémon then dispersed on their trainer's orders to try finding the missing Ground-type. Some time had passed but no one had found Sandshrew yet. Ash took this time to prove his idiocy by attempting to recruit A.J.'s Pokémon into joining him.

"You've all had enough of A.J. and the way he pushes you around, haven't you? Well, you don't have to put up with it anymore, because now you can come with me. Anyone who's coming with me, raise you hand," Ash said as he raised his own hand, trying to get A.J.'s Pokémon to go with him.

All of A.J.'s Pokémon, however, just completely ignored Ash.

"Just raise your hand. Get 'em up there," Ash said, still trying to convince the Pokémon.

"Ash is making a fool of himself again," Misty said as she watched him.

"Mm-hmm," both Aaron and Brock said in agreement.

"You see what happens when you try to start a mutiny in my gym?" A.J. said to Ash. "My Pokémon are all loyal!"

"So then where's Sandshrew?" Ash asked.

But the next thing Ash knew, he was hit in the chin by something of a yellowish-brown color, knocking Ash backwards and knocking him out. But a Meowth was flung off the creature's tail as well. The yellowish-brown creature then fell right into A.J.'s arms.

"Sandshrew," was all A.J. said as he hugged his Pokémon.

All of A.J.'s other Pokémon ran over to greet Sandshrew's return.

"A.J. and all his Pokémon sure are happy that Sandshrew is back," Misty said as she watched the happy reunion.

Ash slowly stood back up as he rubbed his chin and saw how happy A.J. and Sandshrew were.

"How could they possible pick him over me?" Ash wondered.

"A.J. may be hard on them, but as you can see, he cares deeply for his Pokémon and they care for him," Aaron answered.

"Wow. A.J. does care about them," Ash said as he saw Sandshrew licking A.J.'s face while A.J. laughed.

"Pika-pikachu," the five trainers heard Pikachu say.

"What is it?" Ash asked as himself, Misty, Aaron and Brock turned to see what Pikachu was getting so worked up about. "Meowth!"

"So then it must have been Team Rocket that kidnapped Sandshrew," Brock figured out as Ash walked over to Meowth.

"Wake up," Ash said to the unconscious Meowth while hold him up by his tail.

"Meowth," Meowth finally said as he woke up and quickly scratched Ash across the face, causing Ash to scream in pain, then Meowth landed on the floor. "Hey! Where am I? What's going on here?"

While Meowth was trying to figure things out, the five trainers, Pikachu, and all A.J.'s Pokémon stood in front of Meowth.

"H…" was all Meowth could get out of his mouth at the moment. "How am I gonna get out of this mess?"

"Prepare for trouble," is what everyone heard coming from the tent's entrance.

"Make that double!" was heard next and Meowth and everyone else looked in the direction of the voices and saw Jessie and James.

"Team Rocket," Ash said.

"Use the old motto," Meowth said.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation," James said right after.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," they said at the same time. "To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! That's right," Meowth jumped in.

"That felt great! We don't need a theme song," Jessie said as her eyes started to water.

"It's a classic," James said as his eyes also started to water.

"So these are the creeps who kidnapped my Sandshrew?" A.J. wondered, directing his anger at Team Rocket.

"Mmm. That was an unfortunate mix-up," Jessie answered as she waved her finger.

"We have no interest in your second-rate Sandshrew," James said.

"Second-rate?!" A.J. repeated.

"The only Pokémon we want is Pikachu," Jessie said.

"You can keep all those other wimps!" James said.

"Wimps, are they?!" A.J. shouted.

"That's it," Ash said as he charged towards Team Rocket, but was stopped by A.J. "Huh?"

"I'll take care of this. No one insults my Pokémon and gets away with it," A.J. said. "Let's step outside."

"Uh-oh," Ash said to himself.

"This might get messy. We should hang around in case he needs back-up," Aaron suggested.

"Right," Ash agreed.

"Good thinking, Aaron," Misty said, earning a smile from the brown-haired boy.

Everyone walked out of the tent while A.J. and Team Rocket took their places on the battle stage. A.J. then just cracked his whip.

"Team Rocket has insulted our gym. We'll answer them with our 100th win," A.J. announced.

"100?" Ash asked, wanting to make sure he heard right.

"That's right. As Sandhrew and I vowed…" A.J. answered.

"Good luck, A.J.," Aaron said.

"Your small-talk will cost you big-time," Jessie said as she grabbed her PokéBall and threw it. "Ekans, go!"

"Your turn, Koffing," James said as he threw his PokéBall.

Both PokéBalls opened up revealing the two Poison-type Pokémon.

"Sandshrew, go!" A.J. ordered his Pokémon.

Sandshrew just charged at Team Rocket's Pokémon and dodged them as they tried to attack. Sandshrew then jumped into the air and curled itself up into a ball.

"Ekans, Bind it now!" Jessie told her Snake Pokémon.

Ekans did as it was told, but the rolled-up Sandshrew just slipped through Ekans' tail. Sandshrew then kicked Ekans right in the face. Pikachu was cheering Sandshrew on, waving two little fans.

"It's so strong," Ash said in awe.

"Good work!" Misty cheered.

"Excellent," Brock cheered as well.

"Now I see why I lost. Not bad," Aaron said.

"Koffing, Sludge attack!" James ordered his Pokémon.

The Poison Gas Pokémon did as it was told and spit out black sludge at Sandshrew. But the Mouse Pokémon just curled up into a ball and started to spin, deflecting the sludge.

"Meowth, don't just stand there," James told the Scratch Cat Pokémon.

Meowth jumped in, but instead of fighting, started chasing the rolled-up Sandshrew around like it was a toy.

"Stop pussyfooting around!" Jessie yelled at the cat.

"Just "biting" my time," Meowth said at it bit Sandshrew's tough skin, breaking its teeth in the process. "Aah! The moment of tooth!"

"Finish it!" A.J. said as he cracked his whip. "Sandshrew, Fissure strike!"

Sandshrew jumped up from the ground into the air and seemed to be building up strength. Everyone watched, as it seemed like lightning was eminating from Sandshrew's body. The Ground-type Pokémon then dove towards the ground and started to spin with its arm pointed right at the ground.

"Go, Sandshrew. Drill into the ground until it splits!" A.J. shouted to his Pokémon.

Sandshrew rammed its fist into the ground of the stage. At first it seemed like nothing happened, but then the stage split in two. Jessie and James jumped to the side as Meowth fell into the large crack. Ash and Brock moved away, but Misty was too slow and started to fall into the chasm.

"Misty!" Aaron shouted as he noticed Misty about to fall in, and he ran forward and grabbed her arm, holding it tightly and holding his ground so she wouldn't fall in. "I got you!"

"Aaron! Pull me up, please! I don't want to fall in!" Misty cried.

"Don't worry! I won't let go!" Aaron said as he pulled with all his strength, which caused him to pull Misty right into his chest.

The two trainers blushed slightly from the close contact, but then pulled away from each other as they continued to blush and they looked away from each other.

"Are you ok, Misty?" Aaron asked, but didn't look at the red-head.

"Yeah. Thank you, Aaron," Misty said, but not looking directly at the boy who just saved her life.

Meowth then slowly climbed out of the chasm, having grabbed a small ledge as he fell in. Meowth then jumped out and started running away with Ekans and Koffing right behind him.

"That's it! I forfeit the match!" Meowth shouted as he ran.

"Come back here!" Jessie yelled as she ran after the three Pokémon.

"Meowth, where are you going?" James shouted as he ran right behind Jessie.

"To write us a theme song!" Meowth shouted his answer while still running.

"Not that again! Ugh!" Jessie yelled.

"We did it, Sandshrew! We finally reached victory number 100!" A.J. cheered.

The sign above the wooden doors to A.J.'s gym changed the number of wins from 99 to 100 while still at 0 for loses.

"Today all of out sacrifices and hard work have finally paid off," A.J. said as he cried tears and happiness, as did Sandshrew. "Now we can start winning our badges."

Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock just smiled as they looked at how happy A.J. and Sandshrew were. But when Misty's and Aaron's eyes met, they quickly looked away, still remembering when they were so close to each other. Once A.J. and Sandshrew were finished, all five trainers walked outside the wooden doors.

"When I return here, I'm gonna be… the number one Pokémon master," A.J. stated.

"Why don't you come along with us?" Ash offered.

"Thanks, but Sandshrew and I have our own path that we must follow," A.J. said as he held out his hand, which Ash shook.

"Someday we'll meet again at the big Pokémon League competition," Ash said.

"Ok, but next time I hope you're not such a big crybaby," A.J. agreed and laughed.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked.

"Forget it. But sure, we'll meet up then and I'll give you the battle you wanted," A.J. said.

"That's a deal," Ash agreed.

"So long," A.J. said as he turned around and both he and Sandshrew started walking away.

"He's tough, but pretty cool," Misty said.

"Yeah. Looks like you found another rival," Brock said to Ash.

"I'll train hard to become the greatest Pokémon master in the world, following my own path," Ash said, though mostly to himself.

The four of them then turned around and walked in the direction opposite of where A.J. was going.

* * *

**Me: Well, how did everyone like this chapter?**

**Ash: YOU PULLED ME OUT OF THE FIGHT?!**

**Me: Hey, if I had you fight, then the readers would be sending more reviews saying "Aaron needs to be in it more".**

**Ash: BUT YOU ALSO HAD HIS SPEAROW EVOLVE INTO A FREAKING FEAROW! THAT'S NOT FAIR!**

**Me: Hey, I say what's fair and what isn't. And just for that, your fight in the next episode/chapter will be pulled as well.**

**Ash: WHAT?! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!**

**Me: I just did.**

**Ash: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

***I just watch and sweatdrop as Ash goes into a corner and starts sulking again***

**Me: Well... how did the rest of you like it?**

***I look over at Misty and Aaron as they blush slightly while looking away from each other***

**Me: Maybe I shouldn't have made them get so close.**

**Brock: I thought it was nice.**

**Me: You think so?**

**Brock: Definitely.**

**Me: *sigh* You're the only one, Brock. I'm surprised that you're the only one who's not ignoring me.**

**Brock: Well, it's not like my role has really been cut or anything.**

**Me: That's true. So you don't have anything to ignore me for anyway. At least, not at the moment.**

**Brock: What do you mean by that?**

**Me: You'll be leaving for a bit at the very end of the first season.**

**Brock: I know. Remember, you're pulling us from the shows, with the exception of Aaron. So I already know what happens to me throughout the whole thing.**

**Me: That's good. Cause I don't want to end up talking to myself for making you guys ignore me.**

**Brock: Unless you make me do something that never happened in the serious that I don't like, I'll still be here for you to talk to.**

**Me: Thanks. At least you haven't become a womanizer yet.**

**Brock: *sweatdrop* Um... thanks. I think.**

**Me: Anyway, please R&R, everyone.**


	6. The School Of Hard Knocks

**Me: Okay, here we go. Next chapter.**

***Ash is still sulking from yesterday after I said his battle scene was being removed***

**Misty: Geez, Ash. Get over it. They're just battles against random trainers. You still get to fight against Gym Leaders.**

***Ash then cheered right up***

**Ash: You're right, Misty. Thanks.**

***Myself, Misty, Aaron and Brock sweatdropped***

**Me: That was rather quick.**

**Brock: So, what's happening this time?**

**Me: Aaron gets to fight again in Ash's place.**

**Ash: Don't tell me _another_ of his Pokémon is going to evolve!**

**Aaron: But I only _have_ two Pokémon at the moment.**

**Me: No, Tentacool won't be evolving. Not for a long time. But Aaron will use it to battle.**

**Misty: I just hope he doesn't get angry like last time. I have to admit, it was a little scary.**

**Me: Uh... then you may wanted to close your eyes and plug your ears during the fight. Because Aaron becomes a lot worse than with what happened against A.J. in the previous chapter.**

**Aaron: Hey, why are you making me get so mad whenever Misty is insulted or beaten?**

**Me: You'll just have to find out later. It won't be revealed in this season, unless some of the readers have already figured it out. If they did, I hope they keep it to themselves until at least the middle of season 2. Not to be rude or anything, my readers.**

**Aaron: Well, I guess I at least get a bigger role than I did in the first or second chapters. And I'm actually using my Pokémon now.**

**Me: Yeah, about that... you won't really get a chance to use your Pokémon for the next few chapters. Except maybe in chapter 9. I haven't decided yet. But the reason being is because Ash catches some new Pokémon.**

**Ash: Oh, right. I completely forgot about that. WOO-HOO!**

**Aaron: And what about me?**

**Me: You'll be getting a new Pokémon in the next chapter as well, Aaron. But that's about all I have planned for now.**

**Aaron: That's okay.**

**Me: Alright, now I have to pick who gets to do the disclaimer.**

**Misty: Mind if I do it? After all, I do have a bit of a big role in this one anyway, right?**

**Me: That's right. And sure, you can give the disclaimer if you want.**

**Misty: Thank you. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 6: Episode 9: The School Of Hard Knocks-

Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock continue their travels, but now find themselves lost in a thick fog.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Ash Ketchum, until you pay for my broken bike," Misty said.

" "My bike. My bike." That's all I ever hear from you," Ash yelled at Misty.

"Right! And my name may be Misty, but I'm perfectly clear about what you owe me, and you're not gonna get away without paying," Misty yelled back.

"Maybe if you two had spent less time arguing and paid more attention where we're going, we'd already be in Vermilion City by now," Brock told the two arguing trainers.

Aaron just watched the argument and kept quiet, not wanting to be dragged into the fray. After a while, Brock decided the group should stop for a break and he started pulling stuff out of his backpack, some of which included a table and several chairs. Ash, Misty and Aaron just stared wide-eyed at this.

"I think we all need a little break. Why don't I just throw a little something together," Brock said as he pulled a bunch of stuff out of the backpack he had been carrying.

'_How does he fit all that into such a tiny backpack?_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Ahh. There's nothing as satisfying as a cup of 100% Cerulean coffee," Brock said as he stood up holding a coffee maker. "You kids are too young for this stuff. But it's really quite good. How about some prune juice?"

Brock placed what looked like a can of prune juice on the table he managed to pull out of the blackhole of a backpack of his while Ash just looked at it and sweatdropped.

"I think I'll pass," Ash said.

"How 'bout some herbal tea?" Misty suggested.

"Compared to the prune juice, that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Aaron said, agreeing with Misty.

"You must be kidding," Ash sighed.

"Not so fast, Ash, I brought my official Pokémon tea set," Brock said as he puled out teacups with Pokémon designs on them.

'_Seriously? What guy in their right mind would have a tea set?_' Aaron thought to himself as he sweatdropped.

"Now, of course, the key to good tea and coffee is good water," Brock said as he put down the teacups and went back into his backpack, struggling to pull out whatever he was went to get. "And I happen to have a generous supply of sparkling, delicious… Mountain Moon pure spring water."

Brock nearly fell backwards as he pull out a bottle of water with a picture of Mt. Moon on the label.

"And for the special snack, I have for you some French crepes," Brock said in an attempted French accent, causing Misty's eyes to grow big and sparkle.

"I love French things, they're so romantic, aren't they?" Misty said as she blushed while having a daydream.

But then Ash decided to ruin it by making some crunching noises, causing Misty to hit Ash over the head with a log, making Aaron take a step back with wide eyes.

"All that crunching is ruining my romantic daydreams!" Misty shouted at her idiotic friend.

"By the way…" Brock started, getting Ash's, Misty's and Aaron's attention back to him. "I can't cook crepes and I can't boil water if I don't have a fire. One of you is going to have to go into the forest and carry back some firewood."

"That's an excellent idea, Brock, and I'm willing to sacrifice the excitement of searching for firewood to stay here and keep you company," Misty said.

Brock then looked at Ash.

"Fine, I'll go then. Since Misty's too lazy to do it herself," Ash said and walked away before Misty could whack him with the log again.

Once Ash was out of sight, Aaron let out a sigh.

"I guess I'll go with him. Can't really trust him to get firewood on his own out here," Aaron said, earning a giggle from Misty. "I'll be back as soon as we get some."

Aaron then walked away and ran to catch up with Ash.

"No firewood here, Pikachu," Aaron heard someone say and he knew it was Ash since he was the only one close by who'd be talking to a Pikachu.

Aaron ran up to him.

"Hey, Ash, wait up," Aaron called out to him.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he turned around to see Aaron running towards him. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to help you look for firewood," Aaron answered.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need your help," Ash said and started walking again, but Aaron walked right behind him.

"You know, you need to learn to accept other peoples help once in a while," Aaron said.

"Yeah, whatever," Ash said, but then they saw something glowing in the distance. "Hey, I wonder what that is."

"Let's check it out," Aaron suggested, earning a nod from Ash and the two of them ran towards the light.

"It's a Pidgey," the two trainers heard someone say.

"Nice guess. You just got lucky," another voice said. "Ok, now tell us what its special attack is."

"Pidgey's attack is Gust. At level 5, Sand-Attack. At level 12--" the first voice said, but was cut off.

"Everybody knows that. Now, can you tell me at which level Pidgey evolves? And what's the name of Pidgey's advanced stage?" a third voice asked.

"You better come up with answers quick, or you'll have to run faster," a fourth voice said.

Ash and Aaron then heard someone fall and they ran faster to see what had happened.

"I'm sorry. I forgot," the first voice spoke.

"You forgot. Hmph. And you call yourself a Pokémon Tech student? Well, we don't want to study with the likes of you," said the third voice.

"I'm sorry," the first voice apologized.

"Hey, leave that kid alone!" Ash yelled as he ran towards the voices and then skidded to a halt while Aaron just walked up to Ash.

"What's going on here?" Aaron asked.

"There's nothing going on here. Mind your own business. This is a private training session," said a boy with red, spiky hair.

"There's no room in our Pokémon school for losers who don't even know Pidgey's evolved stage," said a boy with green hair that curled at the front. "We have to maintain standards."

"I'm not sure about this school you're talking about, but its standards must be really low if it's turning out students like yourselves," Aaron said.

"You tell them, Aaron," a voice said from behind him and Ash, and they both looked back to see it was Misty.

"Misty," Ash said.

"You better stop bullying that kid, or you'll have to answer to us. Right, guys?" Misty asked Ash and Aaron.

"Well, I don't particularly like getting into fist-fights. But Ash is more than welcome to," Aaron answered.

"If you two are too chicken to fight, then I guess I'll have to," Ash said.

"Alright, Ash. We'll leave it up to you," Misty said. "It's very brave of you to take on all five by yourself."

"We'll just stand here and wait to drag your lifeless body away once it's over," Aaron said.

"Show them what you're made of, Ash," Misty said, though she looked over at Aaron and the two Cerulean trainers laughed to each other, knowing that Ash wouldn't stand a chance.

"We don't fight," said the red-haired boy.

"Fighting is for cavemen," said the boy with the curled, green hair. "This isn't the Stone Age, you know."

"And if we wasted our time having a fight with a little insect like you, it would just make Pokémon Tech look really bad," said a boy with long, dark hair.

"We'll see you back at the Tech, Joe," the boy with green, curled hair said to the brown-haired boy who was being forced to answer the questions.

"Ok," the light-brown-haired kid, Joe, answered.

"Hey!" Ash called out to the boys who were walking away. "Maybe you cowards are just afraid to fight someone like me."

"The only thing we're afraid of is how badly we'd beat a little punk like you," the red-haired boy said with a laugh.

"Who do those guys think they are?" Ash wondered as the boys disappeared.

"So those are the infamous Tech students," the three trainers heard someone say behind them, and they turned around to see it was Brock, then they turned back around to see where the boys disappeared to.

"Tech students?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, they mentioned it before. Pokémon Tech. It's short for "Pokémon Technical". Apparently some school for Pokémon trainers," Aaron explained.

"I think I have a flier for it somewhere," Misty said as she dug into the pockets of her jean shorts, pulling out a piece of paper. "Yeah. Here it is."

Misty then opened the piece of paper and both Ash and Aaron leaned towards Misty to get a better look at the flier.

"A Pokémon school in the middle of nowhere?" Ash wondered.

Then Brock just snatched the flier out of Misty's hands so he could take a look.

"Hmm. Let's see what it says here about this place," Brock said as he started to read the flier out loud. "Pokémon Technical Institute. A boarding school for serious Pokémon trainer preparation. All students guaranteed to enter Pokémon League upon graduation. Pokémon Technical is the educational facility for exceptional students who want to become Pokémon trainers in a very short time without having to travel on difficult badge-collecting journeys."

Brock then lowered the flier.

"So that's the story," Brock said.

"Getting into the Pokémon League without badges is too easy," Ash said.

"Wait. There's more," Brock said as he looked at the flier again and continued to read. ""Student entrance fees and tuition are in keeping with the high standards set by Pokémon Technical."

"You know what that means, don't you?" Misty said to Ash.

"It's a school that only the kids of millionaires can go to," Aaron answered for Misty.

"Oh! That really makes me mad. Where is this place anyway?" Ash asked.

"It's right over there," Joe pointed right ahead of Ash.

The group then heard someone talking over a speaker.

"Today's special class, Fog Battle Techniques, is now ended. Tomorrow's lesson will be Snow Competition Secrets," the voice said.

"Oh, well. I guess, tomorrow, they'll make me into a snowman again," Joe said with a sigh.

"Do they always treat you like that?" Aaron asked.

"My friends are just trying a help me," Joe answered.

"You call them friends?" Ash asked, thinking something might be wrong with the kid.

"With friends like that, who needs enemies?" Brock said.

"But they helped me learn that Pidgey evolves to Pidgeotto at level 18; it learns Whirlwind at level 21; Wing Attack at level 31; and as its level rises, it learns various tricks. After evolving to Pidgeot, it can fly at 1,200 meters and speeds of up to mach 2," Joe explained.

"I don't get it. If you know everything about Pidgey, why didn't you just answer them before?" Ash asked.

"Sometimes I make believe that I don't know all the answers. Because if I do, they make the questions that much harder," Joe answered. "But I have to stay here at Pokémon Tech. My mother and father worked hard and saved money so they could pay to send me to school here."

Joe then turned his attention to a guy sitting under a tree.

"You see that guy over there?" Joe asked, making the four trainers look in the direction Joe was looking in. "He's an upperclassman. The classes are so hard here, some students are held back for many years. Everybody's too ashamed to go home without getting a diploma. That guy, he's in the Beginner's class with me."

"You're a Beginner?" Ash asked.

"Kinda hard to imagine that if you know so much about Pidgey and its evolved forms," Aaron added.

"Beginner's have the same qualifications as someone with two badges. The Intermediate class has the qualifications of four. And Advanced students have the same as 6. If you graduate, you can enter the Pokémon League without traveling around to collect the badges," Joe explained before returning his attention to the guy under the tree. "That guy's a beginner, but he's so much older than everybody in the class, the kids don't bother to help him like they help me."

"What do the teachers say about that kind of help?" Misty asked.

"They don't even know about it," Joe answered. "Or if they do, they pretend not to."

"Well, I for one think this is a violation of Students' Rights that must stop immediately, if not sooner," Ash said, earning a nod in agreement from Aaron. "I wanna meet the student in charge of this system, and I'll see that it stops."

"Mm. Here's a picture," Joe said as he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a picture, showing it to the four trainers.

"It's a girl?" Misty asked.

"Oh, yeah. You're right about that," Ash said as he blushed at the picture.

"She can violate my rights if--" Brock said while blushing, but he got too into it to finish his sentence.

Aaron was blushing at the picture as well, but not as much as Ash and Brock were and he chose not to voice his opinion.

"Hey! If she's making your life so miserable, how come you're carrying her picture around?" Misty asked.

"I hate the way she treats us, but I like that way she looks," Joe answered.

"Yeah. Not like some other girls who treat you bad and look even worse," Ash said.

This caused Aaron to step back as Misty prepared to yell at Ash and Brock.

"While you two are slobbering over that dopey picture, I'm gonna find that little witch and straighten her out!" Misty shouted before stomping off towards the building.

Aaron ran after Misty after he hit Ash in the back of the head for the comment the hat-wearing trainer said about Misty.

"Miss Top Student. What's so great about her?" Misty asked herself.

"Misty, wait!" Aaron called after her as she headed into the building.

Aaron followed Misty into the building and Ash, Brock and Joe walked in moments later. The four trainers had a look around the room.

"Giselle always practices here by herself. Even if you beat her in a fight, it won't matter to her. At the Tech, it's your skill as a Pokémon trainer that counts more than winning any one battle," Joe explained.

"That's what I'm hoping," Ash said as he reach into his jacket and pulled out his Boulder and Cascade Badges. "Because I've got two badges."

"But Giselle is the top beginner here at the Tech. That's better than even having three badges," Joe said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Even though I'm at the bottom of my class, I'm still more powerful than someone with two badges."

"Hold on a second here," Misty said as she pushed Ash aside. "I learned how to be a Pokémon trainer at the Cerulean City Gym. Are you saying you can beat me?"

"Oh. Cerulean City. Water Pokémon," Joe said as he sat in front of one of the computers and turned it on.

"How'd you know?" Misty asked.

"I always beat them on the simulator," Joe answered as an image of a Weepinbell appeared on the screen with a Starmie on the other side set it be its opponent. "See?"

On the computer, the Weepinbell attacked once and the Starmie image fell to the bottom of the screen.

"What is this?" Misty said in disbelief. "A simulation's one thing, but this is real life. Let's battle."

Misty grabbed a PokéBall from her belt and held it as to challenge Joe.

"You'll be sorry," Joe said as he stood up from his seat, accepting Misty's challenge.

Joe then led the four trainers to a battle practice room.

"What do you two have to battle for?" Ash asked, getting rather annoyed.

"Butt out, Ash. I have the Cerulean City Gym's reputation to defend, and I'm gonna defend it," Misty answered.

Aaron would've said something to cheer Misty on, but just knew she'd beat Joe.

"Misty calls…" Misty started as she threw her PokéBall. "Starmie!"

The ball opened up and the Water/Psychic Pokémon materialized from inside the ball.

"Too bad your Water Pokémon won't be able to beat my plant," Joe said as he threw his PokéBall. "All right, Weepinbell, let's go!"

The Grass-type Pokémon materialized from within Joe's PokéBall.

"I'll teach him about Pokémon. Starmie, go!" Misty told her Pokémon.

The star-shaped Pokémon just fired a single Water Gun and instantly knocked out Weepinbell.

"Huh? Oh, but Weepinbell is strong against Water Pokémon," Joe said, shocked that he had lost.

"True, but there's one thing you didn't know," a girl's voice said from behind Joe.

Everyone looked to see who the source of the voice was and recognized her as Giselle from the picture Joe showed them.

"Your opponent's from the Cerulean City Gym. Her Pokémon has much for experience battling. You should've known that. You're an embarrassment to the whole school," Giselle said to Joe.

"But, Giselle--" Joe started, but couldn't finish what he was going to say.

"She's really pretty, isn't she?" Ash said as his eyes grew big and he had a large blush on his face.

"Yeah. She looked just like a movie star," Brock said in agreement, also with a blush on his face.

'_They like stars, do they? I'll be glad to show them some stars,_' Misty thought to herself as she looked back towards Ash and Brock, her eye twitching.

Aaron just stood there and looked skeptically at Giselle.

"I'm the top student in the Beginning class of the most exclusive Prep school in the world, Pokémon Tech. It's sad that others aren't blessed with my beauty, my talent, my humble attitude. People call me a star, but…" Giselle said as she struck a pose. "I'm just Giselle."

'_Wow. She's just flattering herself. I can't believe anyone can be so conceited,_' Aaron thought to himself as he heard Giselle's little speech.

"I want to continue to help my classmates be the very best they can be-- to teach each other, respect each other, and ensure the Pokémon of tomorrow," Giselle said as she walked up to Joe. ""But you're a weakling. You'd better get stronger fast, or, before you know it, your fellow students will turn their backs on you for good."

Giselle then turned around and started walking away from Joe.

"Not so fast," Misty called out towards Giselle. "A true friend wouldn't walk away from someone who needs their help. You may look beautiful, but you remind me of an old saying about how beauty's only skin deep."

'_Misty sure does have a way with words,_' Aaron thought to himself and smiled at his red-headed friend.

"Jealousy's not very pretty either, is it?" Giselle said to Misty.

"Who said Misty's jealous?" Aaron said to himself.

"I'd better do something," Ash suggested.

"No, Ash. This is Misty's fight," Aaron said.

"Against your Water Pokémon, I'll choose…" Giselle said as she walked over and grabbed a PokéBall from a table. "Graveler, go!"

Giselle threw the PokéBall, releasing the evolved for of Geodude.

"Graveler? But Rock Pokémon are weak against Water Pokémon," Brock said.

"But my Pokémon are at such an advanced level, they can beat Water Pokémon," Giselle responded.

Graveler then jumped into the air and attempted to stomp on Starmie. The star-shaped Pokémon jumped out of the way and floated in the air as it shot out a Water Gun at Graveler. But the Rock Pokémon just jumped backwards while spinning, causing the Water Gun to be deflected off of it as it smashed right into Starmie's core and sent it flying out the window and into the pool. Misty just watched in complete shock at how easily Starmie was beaten.

"I can't believe it," Misty said.

Aaron started to feel his anger rise again, just as it had when he fought against A.J. Everyone rushed outside to make sure Starmie wasn't too badly injured.

"Now we're by the pool, you're Pokémon's specialty. You can use a different Water Pokémon, if you want," Giselle said.

"Oh, and I'm sure you'll choose another Pokémon that's weak against water," Misty snapped at Giselle while hugging her Starmie.

"Pokémon are only as strong as the trainer who raises them. A Pokémon that's weaker but better trained can still win. It depends on the trainer," Giselle said before turning her attention to Joe. "I hope you're learning something from this, Joe. A Pokémon's level of training is just as important a factor as a Pokémon's type in deciding a match. A first-class Pokémon trainer can calculate that."

Ash was about to step forward when Aaron grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Ash looked back at Aaron with a confused look.

"Let me handle this one, Ash," Aaron said.

Ash backed down when he saw Aaron's anger again. The brown-haired trainer walked ahead of Misty and she watched him stand between her and Giselle.

"Aaron…" was all Misty said.

Giselle saw Aaron and now focused her attention on him.

"And just who are you?" Giselle asked.

"My name is Aaron and I'm a Pokémon trainer from Cerulean City. By defeating Misty, our Gym Leader, you tarnished our city's honor. Now I'll win it back by defeating you in a battle!" Aaron announced.

"What? Honor?" Ash wondered.

"That's right. When a Gym Leader is beaten, the city they're from gets knocked down a bit," Brock answered.

"What? Seriously?" Ash asked, wondering if part of the city was actually torn down.

"It's just a figure of speech, Ash. But the city loses reputation whenever its Gym Leader is beaten. But if a Pokémon trainer from the same city beats the person who defeated the Gym Leader, the city's reputation is restored," Brock answered.

"Oh. I think I get it now," Ash said.

"So you're also an expert at Water Pokémon?" Giselle asked.

"That's correct, though Water Pokémon aren't all I use. But in this case, I'll use a Water Pokémon to beat you," Aaron answered.

"Then you'd better choose wisely," Giselle stated, but Aaron already grabbed the PokéBall for the Pokémon he was going to use.

'_I only have_ one _Water Pokémon. My only other Pokémon is Fearow, so I'll battle with Tentacool. It'll be perfect since not only is it a Water-type, which is our city's specialty, but it's also the Pokémon that bound the friendship between Misty and me. Just the Pokémon to use to get revenge for her,_' Aaron thought to himself.

The brown-haired boy then tossed his PokéBall into the pool.

"Let's do this, Tentacool!" Aaron shouted.

As the PokéBall hit the bottom of the pool, it opened up and released Aaron's Water/Poison Pokémon. Misty gasped a bit when she saw the Jellyfish Pokémon surface.

'_Aaron's using the Pokémon that started our friendship? But why wouldn't he use something stronger unless…_' Misty thought to herself and reached her own realization. '_He doesn't _have_ any stronger Water-types._'

"Just how long have you had that Pokémon of yours?" Giselle asked.

"I've had Tentacool with me for nearly 6 years and it was my very first Pokémon. But I don't see what that has to do with anything right now. Just choose your Pokémon!' Aaron shouted.

"And how many badges do you have?" Giselle asked.

"Quit stalling and let's get started already!" Aaron yelled.

"I'll take that as zero. This should be an easy fight. Against your Tentacool, I choose…" Giselle said as she grabbed another PokéBall and threw it. "Cubone, go!"

Giselle's PokéBall opened up, revealing the skull-wearing Ground-type Pokémon.

"But Cubone's weak against Water-types, right?" Ash asked.

"That's right. But Tentacool is part Poison-type, which is weak against Ground-types. This match is just about even. All that it comes down to now is skill," Brock answered.

"Tentacool, start things off with Poison Sting!" Aaron told his Water Pokémon.

Tentacool released hundreds of tiny needles from the red spots on its head, but Cubone just swung its Bone Club, knocking down the needles.

"Cubone, use your Leer attack," Giselle announced.

"Tentacool, underwater!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

Tentacool did as its trainer said and sunk under the water to escape the effect of Cubone's Leer.

"Now jump out of the water and use Water Gun!" Aaron commanded his Jellyfish Pokémon.

Tentacool surfaced and then jumped up from the pool, unleashing a blast of water at Cubone.

"Cubone, dodge and use Bone-merang," Giselle ordered.

Cubone jumped to avoid the Water Gun and threw its bone at where Tentacool was going to land. It struck Tentacool, sending the Water/Poison Pokémon right back into the water.

"No, Tentacool! Are you ok?" Aaron called out to his Pokémon as Cubone caught its bone.

"Your Tentacool is weak. You say you've had it for 6 years, but it can't even withstand a single Bone-merang," Giselle taunted.

"Shut up! No one insults my Pokémon and gets away with it. _Especially_ not my Tentacool!" Aaron shouted. "Tentacool is more important to me than any other Pokémon, and our power as a team will beat your Cubone!"

Misty just looked on at Aaron.

'_What's with him? He's never been this fierce before,_' Misty thought to himself.

"Tentacool! If you're alright, I need you to resurface!" Aaron requested of his Pokémon.

It took a few seconds, but the Water/Poison-type swam back up to the surface.

"You're a stubborn one. I'll end this match now. Cubone, Bone-merang!" Giselle ordered.

Cubone did as told and threw its bone again. Aaron kept his eye on it until he saw the perfect moment.

"Tentacool, jump over it! Now!" Aaron commanded his Pokémon.

Tentacool jumped right when Aaron had told it, surprising Giselle.

"Now, latch onto Cubone with Wrap! Then attack with Poison Sting at close range!" Aaron yelled.

Tentacool did as told and reached out with its tentacles, wrapping them around Cubone's head and pulling itself towards the Ground-type Pokémon. Tentacool then let loose hundreds of needles again, all of them striking Cubone's head. Aaron then saw the bone heading right back towards Cubone.

"All right, Tentacool! Jump, now!" Aaron told his Pokémon friend.

Tentacool jumped right when Aaron had told it to, and the next thing to happen was Cubone getting smacked in the face with its one bone.

"End it, Tentacool! Water Gun!" Aaron shouted.

Tentacool released a stream of water right at Cubone as the Ground-type Pokémon was flying back from its own bone. The Water Gun hit its mark, causing Cubone to crash right into the ground before Tentacool landed back in the water once its attack ended.

"No, Cubone!" Giselle cried out.

Cubone flipped itself back up and started to cry its eyes out. Aaron then appeared to have calmed down and let out a sigh of relief.

"You did an excellent job, Tentacool. Now you can take a good rest," Aaron said as he returned his most prized Pokémon to its PokéBall.

Giselle had returned Cubone to its PokéBall as well and looked up at Aaron.

"I've never heard of a Tentacool that could stay out of the water as long as yours did," Giselle said.

"It's been out for longer than that at one point," Aaron said as he looked over towards Misty.

"Thank you, Aaron," Misty said quietly.

"I just can't believe I lost to someone who doesn't have a single badge," Giselle said.

But then smoke started to fill the area.

"Huh?" Giselle wondered.

"Don't tell me…" Aaron started.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," two voices said from within the smoke, but they were easily recognized as Jessie and James.

"To protect the world from devastation…"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth!" Meowth yelled as it, for reasons unknown to the Pokémon trainers, fell from the sky and into the pool only to jump out about a second later. "I love a splashy entrance."

"I've heard of Team Rocket," Giselle said. "You're the ones who got the worst grades ever on the entrance exams. How about your team versus our team?"

Giselle and the other students who were with her held out their PokéBalls.

"The two of us against all of them?" Jessie said as she started to get scared.

"But the rules say one on one," James said, holding his arms out in defense.

"Bad guy don't play by the rules. Get 'em!" Giselle shouted as she and the other students started throwing PokéBalls.

However, the PokéBalls never opened, so the four trainers wondered if they were just baseballs or something painted over to look like PokéBalls. As the "PokéBalls" went flying, Jessie, James and Meowth started to run away while they were getting hit.

"There are too many PokéBalls!" Jessie shouted.

"From now on, we play by the rules!" James yelled.

"At least for a little while," Meowth said.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" all three of them shouted as they ran as fast as they could.

After Team Rocket was gone, the four trainers decided to stick around for a bit to make sure Starmie healed up before Misty returned it to its ball. They then noticed Giselle sitting by the pool and Joe walking up to here.

"There are some things you just can't learn in school, and that's a good lesson," Giselle said.

"I'm going back home to start from scratch with my first Pokémon, just like Aaron did," Joe said, then he looked at Giselle. "Hey, Giselle, maybe we'll meet someday in the Pokémon League."

"I hope so," Giselle said. "I'll try my hardest to be a worthy opponent if we do."

"All right if I keep your picture with me?" Joe asked.

"Sure. I have pictures of my friends, too," Giselle said.

"Huh? Do you have mine?" Joe asked.

"We're friends now, aren't we?" Giselle asked as she stood up. "Good luck, Joe."

Giselle held out her hand and Joe shook it.

"You, too, Giselle," Joe saod.

"See? Why can't you and I be like that, Misty?" Ash asked as the four trainers watched Joe and Giselle become friends.

"Huh? I'll tell you exactly why. Because he doesn't owe her a bike!" Misty said to Ash, causing him to sweatdrop and causing Aaron to laugh.

"And besides, if you want an example of great friendship, just look at me and Misty," Aaron said.

"That's exactly right," Misty agreed.

"So, maybe we'll battle each other again some day," Giselle said to Misty and Aaron as she and Joe walked up to the group.

"I sure hope so," Misty said.

"Same here," Aaron said.

Giselle and Joe just nodded at the two Cerulean trainers. The four traveling trainers then left the grounds of Pokémon Tech to continue on their journey towards Vermilion City.

* * *

**Me: Alright, another chapter done.**

***Misty kind of looks away from Aaron***

**Aaron: Misty, I'm sorry if I'm scaring you with these outbursts. I just don't know what's causing me to get so angry.**

**Misty: It's okay...**

**Aaron: Misty...**

**Ash: Whoa. I have to admit, that even scared me a little with all that yelling.**

**Me: Maybe I went a little overboard with this. But I didn't really have a choice. If I didn't make him have that outburst, then the chapter wouldn't flow together perfectly.**

**Brock: You do have a point there. If you end up having to change a chapter because one of us doesn't like it, then it wouldn't really be your story.**

**Me: Thanks, Brock. That's an excellent way of putting it.**

**Ash: WOO-HOO! AT LEAST I'M THE MAIN CHARACTER AGAIN! YAY!**

**Me: Ash, calm down. You know it won't last forever, right?**

**Ash: Aww. Why not?**

**Me: Because you're just catching 4 new Pokémon within the next 4 chapters. Anyone who's seen the series knows what's going to happen. Essentially.**

**Ash: Aww.**

***Ash starts to sulk again***

**Me: WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!**

**Brock: It's no use, AzureKite4. Unless someone else cheers him up or something else catches his interest, he'll be like that for a while.**

**Me: Geez. Now I know the reason why I wanted to make this fanfic. I made it so that there'd be a RESPONSIBLE and MATURE lead male character in the series.**

**Brock: Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I'm responsible and mature.**

**Me: I'll agree with you on the responsible part. But when it comes to the mature part, you start staring and drooling at any beautiful young woman that walks in front of you.**

**Brock: Now you're starting to get me to go against you.**

**Me: Oh come on.**

**Misty: Hey. If Brock stares at beautiful young women all the time, why doesn't he stare at me?**

**Me: First of all, you're about 8 years younger than him, I think. Second, you're more like a little sister to him. Third, you're only 12, so you're barely even a teenager. I doubt Brock wants to get arrested for Pedophilia.**

**Ash: Pedo-what?**

**Aaron: Great, now look what you started.**

**Me: WHY IS EVERYONE TURNING ON ME?!**

**Aaron: Uh... anyway, I guess I'll close us out. Please R&R, everyone.**

**Me: AND SOMEBODY HELP ME!**


	7. Bulbasaur And The Hidden Village

**Me: Alright, here we go. The next chapter. And I want to start off by saying I'm really, really sorry everyone (and I mean my fanfiction characters).**

**Brock: Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?**

**Me: Well, since this whole fanfiction will be over 300 chapters or so long, I'm going to end up having to upload multiple chapters per day from now on so it doesn't end up taking me a whole year to finish. I'm really sorry.**

**Aaron: It's ok. I think we understand.**

**Me: That's good. Because I'm actually writing about 3 or 4 chapters a day whenever I have a day off from work and I just save them until it's time to upload them. But as I said, I don't want to take a whole year to finish this.**

**Misty: It's all right.**

**Ash: Yeah. It just means we get to be in more often, even if it means you get less reviews per day.**

***everyone glares at Ash***

**Ash: What? What did I say?**

**Me: Well, Ash does have a point. Uploading more than one chapter a day _will_ end up having me with less reviews unless any of my readers are generous enough to leave feedback on what they thought of each chapter after they read one chapter. So that means reading a chapter, review, reading the next chapter, review, repeat process. Though, to me, reviews aren't what I write for.**

**Aaron: I'm sure they will if they really enjoy the altered story.**

**Me: Thanks for understanding, guys.**

**Misty: Sure. But I'm kinda wondering why it is that Aaron keeps needing to save me or protect me whenever I get into trouble. Not that I have anything against it.**

**Aaron: You're a really good friend, Misty. I wouldn't want to see you get hurt.**

**Me: Aaron, you can try denying it, but several readers have already figured out your little secret.**

**Aaron: Secret? What are you talking about?**

**Brock: Both AzureKite4 and I know what's going on, Aaron.**

**Aaron: What are you two going on about? Misty's just a good friend.**

***Brock and I look at each other and sigh***

**Me: Alright. Deny it all you want, but I'll tell you this. You'll be admitting it to yourself sometime during the final 1/3rd of Season 2.**

***Aaron looks at me weird***

**Ash: Uh... Anyway, I guess I'll give the disclaimer then. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 7: Episode 10: Bulbasaur And The Hidden Village-

Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock continue on their journey, only to find themselves in a forest. And without a compass, they have no way of knowing which way leads to Vermilion City.

"Don't worry," Ash said to his friends. "I'm positive this way will take us back to the path."

"Positive, huh?" Brock wondered.

"That's what you said an hour ago. I'm tired," Misty said.

"Maybe we should find some place to rest," Aaron suggested.

"All right," Ash said, somewhat defeated.

The four of them stopped walking to rest their feet and take a quick break.

"Phew! I told you to stick to the main read, but you had to take a shortcut," Misty said to Ash, starting another argument.

"_I_ took a shortcut? It was you who said to go this way," Ash argued back.

"Ha! If I was leading, we wouldn't have gotten lost like this," Misty claimed.

"Who says we're lost?" Ash asked.

"Listen, genius! If you don't know where you are or where you're going, that means you're lost!" Misty yelled at the hat-wearing boy.

"Chill, chill!" Brock said, trying to calm the two arguing trainers down.

"Brock's right. Arguing won't help us get out of here. We just need to calm down and figure something out," Aaron said in agreement with the oldest trainer.

"It's good to have someone else who doesn't get into an argument," Brock said to Aaron.

"No problem, Brock," Aaron said.

"All right, but remind me to yell at Ash some more if we ever get to Vermilion City," Misty said to the two older trainers.

"There's always a catch," Aaron sighed.

The four of them continued walking again until they found a small clearing with a little pond and a few rocks to sit on.

"Time for a break," Ash said, and the four of them picked a rock to sit on to rest, but then Ash heard something behind him. "Hmm?"

Ash turned around and saw an Oddish drinking from the pond.

"Oh, wow! A Pokémon!" Ash pointed out.

The young trainer then pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Oddish.

"Oddish. This Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest, scattering pollen as it walks around," the red machine explained.

"I'll catch it,"" Ash said as he reached for a PokéBall.

"Hold it!" Misty said as she pushed Ash aside.

"What for?" Ash asked.

"Because I'm gonna catch that Pokémon," Misty answered.

"Aw, no way, Misty, I saw it first," Ash tried to argue.

"But we found it around the water, and water is my specialty," Misty said.

"Ash, just try being a gentleman for once and let Misty catch it. After all, "ladies first", as the saying goes," Aaron said.

But before either Ash or Misty could reply to Aaron, they heard Oddish walking away and turned around to see it doing so.

"Go, Starmie!" Misty called out as she threw one of her PokéBalls.

Starmie materialized from the ball and landed right in front of the Oddish, but the Weed Pokémon turned and ran in another direction.

"Water Gun now!" Misty told her Pokémon.

Starmie did as it was told and fired a Water Gun at the Grass/Poison Pokémon, hitting it and nearly juggling it in the air.

"Now that's the way to spray," Misty said. "Tackle it, Starmie!"

Starmie charged at the Oddish and hit it with a full-force Tackle, knocking the little Pokémon out.

"That weakened it. Gotta catch it now," Misty said as she held up an empty PokéBall. "PokéBall, go!"

Misty threw the empty ball, but something else struck it and sent it flying back.

"Uh-oh," Misty said as she saw what had happened.

Standing between Starmie and Oddish was a Bulbasaur and it seemed to be protecting the smaller Pokémon.

"Whoa! What's that?" Ash wondered.

Bulbasaur just stood there growling at the trainers.

"Wow! I can't believe it! A Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted, unable to believe his luck of finding a Bulbasaur.

Ash then pulled out his Pokédex again and pointed it at the Seed Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely tough and very difficult to capture in the wild," the machine stated.

Bulbasaur then charged forward and hit Misty's Starmie with a powerful Tackle attack. Starmie was knocked to the ground and Misty held it up, making sure it was ok.

"Oh, oh, Starmie, are you ok?" Misty asked.

"That's a strong Bulbasaur if it's able to beat Starmie in one hit with just a Tackle," Aaron thought aloud.

"Now it's my turn to try," Ash said as he stepped forward. "Bulbasaur is mine!"

Ash grabbed one of his PokéBalls and threw it.

"Butterfree, I choose you," Ash called out as the ball opened.

The Bug/Flying Pokémon materialized from the white light that poured out of the ball.

"Butterfree, Sleep Powder!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Butterfree did as its trainer commanded and started to sprinkle the blue powder-like substance from its wings above the Bulbasaur. But Bulbasaur inhaled some air and then blew the Sleep Powder back at Butterfree. The Butterfly Pokémon fell victim to its own attack and dropped to the ground.

"Ah! Come on. Hang in there, Butterfree!" Ash called out to his Pokémon.

Butterfree tried to get back up, but was tackled by Bulbasaur and sent flying.

"Oh, no," was all Ash could say.

Bulbasaur and Oddish then ran away from the trainers and out of sight.

"Oh, the Bulbasaur," Ash said as he watched the Seed Pokémon run away, then he started whining like he always does. "It's not fair! I want it!"

"It's nothing to start crying over, Ash," Aaron said.

"But that might have been my only chance at getting one!" Ash shouted at Aaron.

"Well if we're lucky, we may run into it again," Aaron said calmly, trying to stop Ash from whining.

It seemed like the most random thing when Ash suddenly cheered up.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get that Bulbasaur!" Ash said before running off.

The other three trainers just let out an irritated sigh before running after Ash. It wasn't long before the four of them reached a bridge, but the problem was that it didn't look very stable.

"So, who wants to go first?" Ash asked as he looked down at the raging river far below the bridge.

Misty, Aaron and Brock just glared at Ash.

"You're the one that wanted the Bulbasaur. So you can go first," Misty said.

Ash just sweatdropped, but knew there was no way out of it. He then put one foot on the bridge and it seemed to be more stable than it looked.

"Ha ha ha. I bet there are Bulbasaur all over this place," Ash said, trying to cheer himself up and calm his nerves from the height of the drop.

Ash then started to walk across the bridge, followed closely by Misty, Aaron and Brock in that exact order.

"But where is this place?" Misty started to wonder.

"I can't find this bridge on my map," Brock said as he pulled out a map and looked at it.

A strong gust of wind then started up and began to swing the bridge. The four trainers held on so they wouldn't be blown off. But then the rope on one side of the bridge snapped and nearly fell, though the rope on the other side was still intact. Ash grabbed the rope with both hands, holding on for dear life while Aaron held on with one arm. Misty had also grabbed hold, but she was beginning to lose her grip.

"Ah! I can't hold on! I'm going to fall!" Misty cried out.

"Misty! Take my hand!" Aaron said to the girl, reaching out to her with his left hand.

Misty reached out to grab it, but she then lost her grip on the rope and began to fall. Aaron reached out as far as he could and grabbed Misty's wrist, stopping her from falling.

"Misty, grab my arm! I don't know how much longer I can hold on!" Aaron said to her.

Misty did as she was told and reached up with her other hand, grabbing Aaron's arm. As for Brock, he was able to grab onto the rope, but he was too far from the other three. He lost his grip and fell off the bridge.

"No! Brock's falling!" Ash yelled.

Brock hit the water and disappeared from view. Aaron then looked over at Ash.

"Ash, try climbing up! Then I'll hand Misty over to you!" Aaron said to the young boy.

"What? What about you?" Ash and Misty shouted.

"I'll be fine! Trust me!" Aaron answered.

Ash just looked at Aaron for a bit before nodding, pulling himself up so he was standing on the only supported half of the bridge. Aaron then slowly moved Misty towards Ash and the boy reached out, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her up. Unfortunately, Aaron lost his grip once he let go of Misty and he started to fall.

"No!" Ash yelled.

"Aaron!" Misty called out to her friend.

While falling, Aaron grabbed a PokéBall and threw it up.

"Fearow, help me!" Aaron shouted as the ball opened, revealing the Beak Pokémon.

Fearow immediately dove down under Aaron and the boy landed on the Flying Pokémon's back.

"Phew. Thanks, Fearow," Aaron said.

"Fear!" the Flying-type screeched.

Ash and Misty walked over the rest of the bridge to the side opposite of where they started while Fearow flew Aaron up to them where he jumped off the Flying Pokémon and returned it to its ball.

"You're ok!" Ash said to Aaron.

"I told you that you could trust me," Aaron replied.

Misty just ran up to Aaron and started punching him in the chest.

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was?" Misty shouted at him.

"It's ok, Misty. And I'd rather have gone myself than drag you down with me," Aaron answered.

Misty then had to fight against herself to keep herself from crying since she could've lost her best friend.

"Hang on. We need to try and find Brock," Ash said.

"Yeah. I just hope he didn't…" Aaron started, but then stopped himself as he thought of the worst-case scenario.

"Right!" Misty spoke up after regaining her composure.

The three trainers then found a path the led down by the river and the ran, following the river downstream, hoping to find Brock somewhere.

"Hurry up!" Ash shouted.

"Aah!" Misty yelled out as she fell.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he heard Misty yell.

Both Ash and Aaron walked over towards Misty to see she had fallen into a hole.

"Whoa. How'd you get down there?" Ash asked.

"I fell in. How else?" Misty answered as she rubbed her sore behind. "What's a trap doing here?"

"It does seem a little odd," Aaron thought aloud.

"Just help me out, quick!" Misty ordered her friends.

"Don't worry. We wouldn't leave you behind," Aaron said as he reached down into the hole.

Misty grabbed his arm and he pulled her up out of the hole.

"Thanks," Misty said.

"Any time," Aaron responded.

"This just isn't our day. First the Bulbasaur, then the bridge, and now the hole," Ash said.

The three trainers continued to walk, searching for their missing traveling companion.

"Brock! Hey, Brock!" Ash called out, hoping Brock would answer.

"Think he washed this far downstream?" Misty asked.

"I'm not sure. But we can't just give up," Aaron said.

Then Aaron felt his foot get stuck on something and the next thing the three trainers knew, they were hanging from a tree in a net.

"Hey! How'd we get up in a tree?" Ash wondered.

"It's another trap. Do something!" Misty said.

"What can I do?" Ash asked.

"Try wiggling. See if the net will open," Misty suggested.

"I don't think that's a good-- Ouch! Hey, watch it!" Aaron shouted as Ash accidently kicked him.

"Oh, this is dumb!" Ash said as he stopped moving around.

"You got any better ideas, let's hear 'em!" Misty yelled at the young trainer.

"Bulbasaur!" the three trainers heard.

They then looked down and saw a Bulbasaur. The same one from earlier. It just looked up at the trainers.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled out.

"Saur… saur…" the Seed Pokémon seemed to be chuckling to itself, seeing the three trainers completely helpless in the net.

"Hold it there, Bulbasaur," Ash yelled as he started squirming around in the net again. "I want a match!"

"Ash, stop it!" Misty shouted. "Ouch! You kicked me!"

"Bulbasaur!" Ash yelled, completely ignoring what Misty had said.

The three trainers then just sat in the net after Ash had calmed down.

"Gee, I wonder what happened to Brock," Ash said.

"I wonder, too," Misty said.

"I'm sure he's ok," Aaron said, trying to cheer his friends up.

"Maybe the river carried him far away. All the way to the ocean," Ash said, completely ignoring what Aaron had said.

Then Ash started to let his imagination take over as he continued talking.

"Then some pirates spotted him and brought him aboard their ship. And one of the pirates has a wooden leg," Ash said.

"You have a crazy imagination," Misty said.

"Yeah. I doubt the river took him that far in the amount of time since he fell in," Aaron said, giving Ash a bank stare.

"Then came the storm," Ash continued, completely ignoring his friends.

"Ahoy!" the three trainers heard a voice say, and it sounded exactly like Brock's voice.

"Huh?" all three trainers wondered as they looked down to see Brock completely fine.

"Hey, Brock!" Ash greeted the squinty-eyed trainer.

"Why are you hanging around up in that tree?" Brock asked his friends.

After a rather quick explanation from the three trainers, Brock took out a small knife and started to cut the net down. The net fell and Ash and Aaron both landed hard on the ground while Misty landed on Aaron's back, causing more pain to the brown-haired boy.

"Thanks, but maybe next time, you could let us down a little more gently," Aaron painfully said.

"Yeah, sure. Uh, sorry," Brock apologized.

Ash then stood up and Misty got off of Aaron so the boy could stand up.

"Sorry about that, Aaron," Misty apologized.

"Nah, it's ok. At least you're not hurt. Besides, you would've fallen on either me or Ash anyway," Aaron said.

"By the way, we've been looking all over for you, Brock," Misty said, turning to their oldest friend.

"We saw you fall into the river. Then what happened?" Ash asked.

"Well, I was being washed away in the rapids," Brock started his little story. "I reached out to try and grab onto something when I felt someone grab my arm and pull me out of the water. The girl who saved my life was incredibly beautiful."

"Hmm, a beautiful girl, huh?" Aaron wondered, thinking Brock might be exaggerating a little bit.

"That's even better than pirates," Ash said, but soon fell victim to his own imagination once again. "Unless, of course, she was really a pirate in disguise."

"Maybe it's time to get a reality check," Misty sighed while Aaron nodded in agreement, earning an embarrassed laugh from Ash.

Brock then led his friends to a clearing with a decent-sized pond and what looked like a cabin. The three trainers then saw the girl that Brock had mentioned from his story earlier. The girl looked back and seemed happy to see Brock again.

"Melanie, this is Ash, Misty and Aaron," Brock said, introducing the three trainers to the girl.

"Hello," Ash greeted.

"So, you're Brock's friends. He told me all about you," Melanie said.

"Great," Misty smiled. "Wow, look at that!"

Misty and Aaron looked at all the Pokémon that were eating some food.

"Are all these Pokémon yours?" Aaron asked.

"Oh, no," Melanie answered.

"This is a place where Pokémon are able to rest and relax," Brock said as he walked over towards a Paras and kneeled down to pet its head.

"Like summer camp?" Ash asked.

"Well, sort of, but all year long," Brock answered. "You see, when Pokémon get abandoned or injured, they can come here. Melanie takes care of 'em until they feel better. Then, they leave."

"So, this is a Pokémon Center, and Melanie is a Pokémon doctor," Misty said, trying to make a comparison.

"Oh, no, I'm not qualified to be a Pokémon doctor," Melanie said.

"So is this more like a spa or something?" Aaron guessed.

"That's right," Brock answered.

"Here, the Pokémon don't battle with one another. They relax and try to enjoy themselves until they've recovered," Melanie explained.

"Cool!" Misty said.

"Melanie collects plants to use for medicine. She knows all about which plants can help a Pokémon feel better or grow stronger when it's too weak," Brock said.

"So, you and Melanie both love to take care of Pokémon," Ash said.

"We do," Brock replied as he looked at Melanie.

"Well, it looks to me like there's something else Brock might love. Huh?" Misty said, giving Brock a sly look.

Brock's face went completely red as he walked over to Misty and put his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet! She might hear you!" Brock said to the red-head.

Aaron just laughed as Brock tried to hide the fact he really liked Melanie.

"But I wonder who put that net up in the tree," Ash thought aloud.

"Probably the same person who dug the hole I fell into," Misty said.

"I'm sorry. I was the one who set those traps. I wanted to catch Pokémon trainers before they reached the village," Melanie explained. "Since you got caught, I guess they really work."

"But why?" Misty asked.

"There are so many injured Pokémon here, I have to protect them," Melanie answered.

"So the bridge was also a trap I'm guessing," Aaron said.

"That's right," Melanie answered.

Brock then led Ash, Misty and Aaron away from Melanie.

"I promised Melanie we wouldn't capture any Pokémon here," Brock said to them.

"And did you seal the promise with a kiss?" Misty joked.

But her response from Brock was a hit in the head.

"So that must mean you really do love her," Misty continued to joke.

Misty was once again hit in the head from Brock.

"Hey, you don't need to hit her. She's just joking around, Brock," Aaron said.

"Well she shouldn't joke about stuff like that," Brock said.

There was a bit of a silence when Aaron got a grin on his face.

"So it is true. You do love Melanie," Aaron joked.

But when Brock went to hit Aaron, the brown-haired trainer moved out of the way and stuck out his tongue while he laughed.

"Well, I guess I'll have to keep your promise," Ash said to Brock.

"Only bad guys try to capture sick Pokémon," Misty said as she rubbed her head.

"But are those traps tough enough to keep robbers away from this place? I mean, you'd have to be pretty stupid to fall into one of those holes," Ash said.

"Hey!" Misty shouted.

After Misty and Brock calmed down, the four trainers walked back to join Melanie. Brock went over by the pond and used a tin cup to pour water onto a Staryu.

"Hyah!" the Starshape Pokémon said as it dried itself off.

"Do you feel any better yet, Staryu?" Ash asked the Water-type.

Meanwhile, Misty and Aaron found the Oddish that they met earlier and Misty went over to apologize.

"Sorry about what happened in the forest," Misty apologized. "I shouldn't have surprised you like that. Ha. You must have been scared. Melanie told me your old trainer got rid of you. Was it because he thought you were too weak?"

The Oddish just nodded.

"You know, some trainers can be insensitive, but not all of us are mean like that," Misty said as she pet Oddish's head. "Ha ha. You just need to find a trainer who understands you. Anyway, I'm sorry for what I did, and I hope we can become friends."

Misty's eyes then started to water a bit as tears began to form. Oddish saw this and used one of its leaves to wipe away a tear.

"You're sweet, Oddish. I am sorry. All I think about lately is winning. I hope I'm not becoming heartless," Misty said to the Pokémon.

Aaron just watched as Misty and Oddish seemed to become friends and he just smiled.

'_Misty's such a kind-hearted person. She'd never do anything bad on purpose,_' Aaron thought to himself, but then saw Ash walk over to Misty after the hat-wearing boy heard her conversation, to which Aaron sweatdropped a bit. '_Well, I guess there are _some _exceptions__._'

"You were always heartless," Ash said to Misty.

"Mind your own business!" Misty shouted back at Ash as she stood up.

"Bulbasaur!" Aaron heard something say.

He looked past Ash and Misty and saw the Bulbasaur from before charge at Misty and tackle her. Aaron reached forward and stopped Misty from falling on the ground.

"Thanks," Misty said, earning a nod from Aaron as the two of them, as well as Ash, look at Bulbasaur.

"It's rude to tackle people, you know!" Aaron said to the Seed Pokémon.

"He's right," Ash agreed.

Bulbasaur just growled as it prepared to tackle again.

"I know. You're just mad because I was going to beat you, but you chickened out and ran off," Ash assumed.

"That must be it," Misty agreed.

"Somehow I doubt that," Aaron said.

But Aaron's words went unheard as Ash reached for a PokéBall.

"Then let's see how tough you really are," Ash challenged Bulbasaur.

"Please, wait!" Melanie called out to Ash as she ran between Ash and Bulbasaur and stood there, holding her arms out as though to protect the Seed Pokémon. "Please! Bulbasaur is only trying to protect Oddish. Bulbasaur volunteered to guard our whole village."

"Huh?" both Ash and Misty wondered.

"I figured it would be something like that," Aaron said to himself.

"It protects all the injured Pokémon whenever enemies try to attack them," Melanie explained.

"Oh," both Ash and Misty said in understanding.

"Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal Pokémon I know," Melanie said.

"So that's why Bulbasaur attacked Misty. It thought she was trying to hurt Oddish," Aaron said.

"Bulbasaur," the three trainers heard and looked down to see Bulbasaur pushing itself against Ash's leg as if trying to make him leave.

"Now what?" Ash wondered.

"Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon trainers. It wants you to leave the village now," Melanie answered.

"But we're not here to catch a Pokémon. We want to help you," Misty said, trying to convince Bulbasaur.

"It's true, Bulbasaur. These are our friends," Melanie said.

However, Bulbasaur wasn't listening. He just kept pushing against Ash's leg.

"Bulbasaur was worried about the other Pokémon, so he decided to be the village bodyguard," Aaron said, managing to piece together what he had overheard.

"Now that's what I call bravery," Ash said. "It would be great to have a Pokémon like that."

All five humans and all the Pokémon looked up to the sky when they saw a large shadow moving closer to them. The object making that shadow made its decent and landed in the clearing.

"Here we go again," Ash said as he knew just who'd come up with something like this.

"Today only, at Jessie Stadium-- It's the Team Rocket Pokémon Challenge," Jessie said.

"The flying stadium was my idea," James said.

Then a side of the stadium slid open and a giant vacuum stretched out before it started to suck everything in.

"All Pokémon are invited to enter the stadium," Jessie said.

"Step right up," James added.

"Yeah. We're not hosin' you. Well, maybe we are," Meowth said.

"Hyah! Hyah!" Staryu yelled as it was slowly being sucked towards the vacuum.

Ash ran forward and jumped, grabbing Staryu, and stopping it from getting any closer to the stadium's vacuum.

"They never run out of ideas, do they?" Ash asked himself.

"Hurry! Everybody in the cabin!" Brock called out.

Melanie and some of the Pokémon through the door and into the wooden building.

"Wait!" Misty yelled as she jumped to try and grab Oddish, but the Weed Pokémon escaped her grasp as it was being sucked towards the vacuum. "No! Oddish!"

Aaron saw this and ran towards the vacuum. He jumped up and let the vacuum pull him closer until he reached Oddish. He wrapped his arms around the Pokémon and pushed his feet into the ground. Oddish looked up at the person who caught it.

"You'll be ok, Oddish," Aaron said, but then felt himself slowly getting closer to the vacuum.

"Aaron, look out!" Misty called out.

Aaron looked behind himself and saw the vacuum getting bigger and bigger as he got closer and closer. But then Aaron felt something tie around him and he looked ahead to see Bulbasaur had used Vine Whip to catch him, though Aaron knew Bulbasaur was only doing this to save Oddish. Bulbasaur pulled its vines back to itself, slowly pulling Aaron closer. The brown-haired boy tried to help as best he could as he started to walk towards Bulbasaur and against the force of the vacuum while still holding onto Oddish. Once Aaron was beside Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon released its vines and Aaron nodded. Ash had run over to Misty and pushed Staryu into her hands.

"Take Staryu," was all Ash said before running off to help Bulbasaur.

Once Ash had reached Aaron and Bulbasaur, Aaron just nodded to Ash.

"You get Bulbasaur to safety! I'll help Oddish!" Aaron said as he started to walk ahead while Ash started to push Bulbasaur from behind.

"Keep going, Bulbasaur," Ash said to the Seed Pokémon.

The two trainers struggled against the wind as it pushed against them. Aaron felt his grip loosening around Oddish, but he just tightened it, making sure not to hurt the Pokémon.

"I'm not going to let you go until we reach the cabin, Oddish!" Aaron said to the Pokémon. '_Misty would be crushed if she lost a new friend she had recently made._'

Both Aaron and Ash, along with Oddish and Bulbasaur, made it to the cabin while Misty stood there holding the door open for them both. Once they got in, Misty quickly shut the door.

"Whew. That was a close one," Aaron said as he sat down and tried to catch his breath after releasing Oddish, which thanked him for saving it. "Sure thing, Oddish."

Misty just stomped towards Aaron and he looked up at her, but kept quiet.

"I told you not to be so reckless! You could've been sucked up by that thing!" Misty yelled at the boy.

"Well if I didn't do it then Team Rocket would've gotten Oddish," Aaron said, not raising his voice to Misty since he still had to catch his breath.

But before Misty could yell at Aaron some more, they felt the cabin start to shake and figured Team Rocket turned up the suction power of the vacuum. Bulbasaur then jumped outside and headed for the roof.

"Hey, where's Bulbasaur going?" Ash wondered.

"Probably to go fight off Team Rocket," Brock thought aloud.

Outside, Bulbasaur used its Vine Whip to smack the vacuum around a bit. Ash then rushed outside and so did Aaron and they both threw a PokéBall each.

"Pidgeotto!" Ash called out. "I choose you!"

"Let's go, Fearow!" Aaron shouted.

Both PokéBalls opened to reveal the two Flying-type Pokémon.

"Pidgeotto! Gust attack!" Ash commanded his Pokémon.

"Fearow! Use Mirror Move to copy Pidgeotto's attack and help it out!" Aaron told his Beak Pokémon.

Both Flying Pokémon began to flap their wings, creating powerful blasts of wind that collided with the vacuum's suction. The opposing wind forces started to swirl around each other and create a tornado.

"And the tornado's winding up…" James said and started to pose like he was a pitcher for a baseball team.

"But will it strike us out?" Jessie wondered as she stared at the tornado.

"There goes the whole ball game," Meowth said.

The tornado moved towards Team Rocket and sucked them up, along with their stadium.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Meowth yelled from inside the swirling vortex.

"Challenge them to windsurfing?" Jessie joked.

The tornado then flung Team Rocket through the air before it died down.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Meowth could be heard yelling.

"Way to go, Pidgeotto!" Ash cheered for his Pokémon.

"Excellent work as always, Fearow," Aaron congratulated his Beak Pokémon.

The two trainers then returned the two Flying-types to their respective PokéBalls before giving each other a thumbs-up. Everyone else who was in the cabin then walked out.

"Is everyone feeling ok?" Melanie asked.

"I just had the wind knocked out of me," Ash answered.

"Yeah. It sure was breath-taking," Aaron chuckled.

"Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur said happily.

"This village is well protected with Bulbasaur here," Ash said as he looked down at the Seed Pokémon.

"Ash, don't you agree that Bulbasaur would be an excellent addition to your team?" Melanie asked the young boy.

"Oh, yeah! Would he ever!" Ash answered enthusiastically.

"I think Bulbasaur should go with you," Melanie said.

"Huh?" Ash asked, completely confused.

"Bulbasaur stayed here to protect the weaker Pokémon, but this village is too small," Melanie said as she picked up the Grass/Poison Pokémon. "The bulb on its back can't grow. It needs to go out into the world now, and I know you'll take good care of it. Please do me this favor. Take Bulbasaur with you on your journey. He'll be a good companion."

"But what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. Who's going to protect you?" Brock asked.

"It's true that Bulbasaur has done a great job. Maybe _too_ great a job. See, these Pokémon shouldn't remain in this village for ever and ever. After they recover, the Pokémon are supposed to leave. But it's too safe here, so none of them wants to go away. They don't want to return to the outside world," Melanie answered. "But I think it's important that all of them return to the wild. That's where Pokémon belong. And hopefully someday they'll find good trainers like you. Of course, taking care of sick Pokémon will always be my mission, but I know my job isn't finished until they return where they came from. So it's the day a Pokémon leaves that is most rewarding to me."

"Melanie, I…" Brock started, but couldn't finish his sentence.

"So, you see, it's time for Bulbasaur to leave here. Please take it with you. It won't be a burden. I promise," Melanie said to Ash. "Bulbasaur still has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where I'm sure it can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash."

"Well, if you really want me to," Ash said.

"Bulbasaur," Bulbasaud said to Melanie, only to get a giggle in return.

"What did it say?" Ash asked.

"Bulbasaur will join you on one condition. It wants to battle you in a Pokémon match," Melanie answered. "Right, Bulbasaur?"

"Bulbasaur," the Seed Pokémon answered.

"Hah! If you want a match, you'll get it," Ash said.

"Oh! Please let me battle with Bulbasaur," Misty begged. "Please, pretty please!"

"No way," Ash said.

"Sorry, Misty. But Bulbasaur picked to go with Ash. So this time it's his fight," Aaron said.

"What about that whole "ladies first" you mentioned before?" Misty asked.

Aaron just scratched the back of his head and looked in another direction, earning Misty to yell at him a bit while Oddish stood next to Aaron. Once it had been decided, Ash sent Pikachu to battle Bulbasaur.

"Pikachu! Go!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu ran towards Bulbasaur to attack, but Bulbasaur used its Vine Whip to attack, though Pikachu dodged each strike. Bulbasaur then charged at Pikachu and hit it with a full-force Tackle.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out when Pikachu was sent backwards. "Look out, Pikachu."

Bulbasaur used Tackle on Pikachu again, sending the Electric-type back some more, but Pikachu stopped itself in mid-air and landed perfectly on the ground. Pikachu then charged at Bulbasaur and hit it, sending the Grass/Poison Pokémon back this time. Bulbasaur flipped back up and used Vine Whip again, this time wrapping them around Pikachu. Bulbasaur then used the vines to start slamming Pikachu into the ground.

"Ash, Vine Whip is Bulbasaur's special attack!" Aaron said.

"Bulbasaur!" the Seed Pokémon said as it continued to slam Pikachu into the ground.

"Aah! Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Pikachu did as it was told and released the powerful Electric-type attack, sending it along Bulbasaur's vines and straight to the Seed Pokémon, electrocuting it.

"All right! PokéBall, go!" Ash shouted as he threw an empty PokéBall at Bulbasaur.

It took a while, but Ash had succeeded in capturing Bulbasaur.

"We did it! We got Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted as he struck a pose.

"Bulbasaur, I'll miss you," Melanie said.

Everyone then stood in front of the cabin to say their farewells.

"Have a safe trip," Melanie said.

"I promise to take good care of Bulbasaur," Ash said.

"Bulbasaur, thank you for watching over us," Melanie said to the Pokémon, which had been let out of its ball to say good-bye to its friends.

"Bulba," the Seed Pokémon said.

"Uh, Melanie, I've been thinking…" Brock started, a blush visible on his face.

"Yes?" Melanie asked.

"Well, since Bulbasaur is leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out," Brock offered.

"It's very kind of you, but we'll be ok. I wouldn't want to keep you from all your wonderful adventures," Melanie said.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you're right," Brock said with a little disappointment in his voice.

"Oddish," the little Weed Pokémon said as it walked up to Aaron, causing everyone to turn its attention to it.

"Huh? I wonder what Oddish is up to," Misty said.

"I think I know," Melanie said.

"Huh?" the four trainers wondered.

"I think Oddish wants to go with you," Melanie said.

"With me?" Aaron asked and looked down at Oddish. "Is that what you want?"

"Oddish," the Weed Pokémon said with a nod.

"Uh… well…" Aaron said as he turned to look at Misty.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Misty asked.

"Well, I know you wanted to catch Oddish. I'm just wondering if you're ok with the fact it wants to join me instead," Aaron answered.

"It's fine. Oddish picked to go with you. And besides, I'll still get to see it," Misty said with a smile.

Aaron just nodded and turned to Oddish while holding out an empty PokéBall to it.

"Welcome to the group, Oddish," Aaron said.

Oddish smiled as it jumped into the PokéBall, becoming the newest addition to Aaron's team just as Bulbasaur became Ash's. The four trainers then turned around and started to walk away as they waved farewell.

"Good-bye, Melanie," Ash said.

"Good-bye. Good luck," Melanie waved to the trainers.

"Bulbasaur," the Seed Pokémon said, a little sad it had to leave the rest of its friends.

"Don't worry, Bulbasaur," Ash said to the Grass/Poison Pokémon. "You'll see your friends again. As soon as the Pokémon feel better, they'll leave this village, too."

"Take good care of each other," Melanie's voice could be heard as the four trainers continued on their journey. "Bye-bye."

Brock just looked back towards Melanie and let out a sigh.

"So! What did Melanie say when you said you loved her?" Misty started to joke around again. "Did you kiss her good-bye?"

"That's enough stupid questions," Brock said as he covered Misty's mouth with his hand. "Would you please stop embarrassing me already? You know, ok, so she's cute. I understand that, but--"

"Uh, did I miss something? What's going on?" Ash wondered.

"Ash, I think you're a little too young to understand at the moment," Aaron said with a quiet laugh.

* * *

**Me: Another chapter complete. What did you all think?**

**Misty: Kind of a shame that Brock didn't get the girl.**

***Brock hits Misty in the head again***

**Misty: OW! Would you stop that?!**

**Brock: I will when you stop joking around!**

**Ash: What are they going on about?**

**Aaron: Like I said, Ash. You're too young to understand this right now.**

**Me: Actually, in truth, he's not too young to understand. He's too dense.**

**Aaron: What do you mean?**

**Me: Through all the 13 seasons of the Pokémon series, the only time Ash shows any kind of interest in a girl is in episode 9, "The School Of Hard Knocks".**

**Aaron: ... You're kidding, right?**

**Me: Nope.**

**Aaron: Ash, you're a hopeless cause.**

**Me: And the worst part is, there are a lot of girls in the series who have interests in him. Misty, you remember Melody from the Pokémon 2000 movie, right?**

**Misty: Yeah, I remember her. She kissed Ash and the cheek and he barely responded.**

**Aaron: Geez. Ash, you really are a moron.**

**Ash: Hey! Why are we talking about that stuff anyway? We're still at the beginning of season 1! You're jumping too far ahead, AzureKite4!**

**Me: Right. I'll try to refrain from doing so again.**

**Brock: Wait, Ash was kissed by a girl before the Pokémon: Heroes movie?**

**Me: Yeah. And speaking of the movies, I will NOT be altering those for the fanfiction since the movies revolve around Ash anyway and I'd have no way of fitting Aaron into them. Sorry to those who would've wanted to see any kind of alternate plot during the first 5 Pokémon movies.**

**Aaron: Well, I think we've done enough talking for this chapter. Please R&R, everyone.**


	8. Charmander The Stray Pokémon

**Me: Alright, here's the next chapter. But first, there's something I need to tell you, Aaron.**

**Aaron: What is it?**

**Me: Due to the course of some of the episodes, I won't be able to have you do much in them. Such as in this one for example.**

**Aaron: That's ok. After all, you ARE taking these right off the episodes themselves, so I would imagine it would be hard for you to find moments to put me in.**

**Misty: You sure are generous, Aaron.**

**Aaron: Thanks, Misty.**

**Misty: Unlike a certain someone.**

***Misty glares at Ash***

**Ash: What?**

**Brock: Hey, I remember this one. Ash, this is when you got Charmander.**

**Ash: Huh? Hey, you're right.**

**Misty: That Damian guy was a creep back then and I'm sure he is now.**

**Me: Well he'd kinda have to be.**

**Aaron: Who's Damian?**

**Me: Some guy who abandoned his Charmander because he thought it was too weak. He only went to get it back after Charmander beat Team Rocket.**

**Aaron: Seriously? What a jerk.**

**Me: Mm-hmm. Anyway, want to give out the disclaimer, Brock? You _are_ the one who really tries to help Charmander.**

**Brock: Sure thing. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 8: Episode 11: Charmander-The Stray Pokémon-

As the four trainers continue towards Vermilion City, they once again find themselves lost and have currently stopped to take a break. At the moment, Ash was looking through a pair of binoculars to see if he could spot any new Pokémon to catch. However, he had no such luck.

"There's nothing but Spearow around here," Ash said.

"And what's wrong with Spearow?" Aaron asked, though his question had been ignored.

"Well, that's the least of our worries, isn't it?" Misty asked.

"Just because we're a little lost doesn't mean I have to stop catching all the Pokémon I can, does it?" Ash asked back.

"Of course not. Enjoy yourself," Misty said sarcastically.

"I'm starting to wonder how many times we can get lost before we finally reach Vermilion City. This is just ridiculous," Aaron said.

"I just can't go one step further," Misty said as she sat on the ground. "We've been looking for Vermilion City for 10 whole days!"

"Uh, there's a bug right on your--" Brock started to say, but was cut off by Misty screaming and she instinctively jumped on Aaron, causing the boy to nearly fall over.

"Get it away! Get it away!" Misty screamed.

"Ah, it was just a piece of grass," Brock said as he picked it up and started to laugh only to be kicked in the face by Misty.

"This might be the only time I say "serves you right", Brock. Please don't scare Misty like that again," Aaron said. '_Because if this keeps up, she's going to end up breaking my back._'

"I'm going crazy! Where are we?!" Misty yelled after she had gotten off of Aaron.

Ash then caught Brock's map after it was thrown into the air by the older trainer after being on the receiving end of Misty's foot.

"According to this, we're right in the middle of nowhere, but it looks like Route 24 leads right to Vermilion City," Ash said after reading the map and showing it to Misty.

"Well, at least we have a direction," Aaron said.

"Does this trail take us to Route 24?" Misty asked.

"According to my calculations it does," Ash said.

"And we all know just how trustworthy that is," Aaron said sarcastically to himself.

"All right! Then let's get this show on the road," Misty said as she grabbed her bag and started walking.

But Misty stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a giant Pokémon.

"Hey, Ash, take a look at this thing," Misty said.

Ash and Aaron both turned around to see what Misty was looking at.

"It looks like some kind of giant Pokémon!" Ash assumed while Brock finally got back up after recovering from Misty's kick. "Pikachu!"

But instead of rushing in, Pikachu hid behind Brock's backpack.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled at his Pokémon.

All four trainers looked up at the silhouette and took a harder look. It just turned out to be an orange lizard with a flame on its tail laying on a large rock.

"A Charmander!" Aaron said in awe.

"Char…" the Lizard Pokémon yawned, causing all four trainers to fall in classic anime fashion.

Once everyone stood back up, Ash pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Charmander.

"Charmander-- A flame burn on the tip of its tail from birth. It is said that a Charmander dies if its flame ever goes out," the red machine explained.

"When I went to get my first Pokémon from Professor Oak, I was disappointed 'cause I couldn't get a Charmander. Now I can catch my own," Ash said.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Ash," Aaron said.

"Huh? Why not?" Ash asked.

"Take a closer look at it. It seems completely exhausted," Aaron answered.

"Yeah, catch it, and we'll take it to a Pokémon Center for help," Brock added.

Ash then twisted his hat around and t grabbed an empty PokéBall.

"PokéBall, go!" Ash said as he threw the ball at the Charmander.

However, just when the ball was in range, Chamander spun around and knocked it back with its tail, sending it right back into Ash's hands.

"Huh?" Ash wondered. It seems pretty healthy to me. You think I should have Pikachu battle it first to weaken it and make it easier to catch?"

"Why don't you let me catch it?" Misty asked. "My Water Pokémon would be stronger against Charmander."

"Hold on a minute," Aaron said as he took a closer look at Charmander. "Take a look at the flame on its tail."

Aaron pointed at the flame, which was rather small and usually indicated a Charmander was really weak or very tired.

"I see. There's no way it could still have the strength to battle," Brock said. "Ash, try the PokéBall one more time."

"All right, I will," Ash said. "PokéBall, go!"

Ash threw the ball again and this time it pulled Charmander in.

"All right!" Ash said.

But the ball started to shake wildly until Charmander forced itself out of the ball before it could be caught. The ball flew back again and this time struck Ash in the head.

"That's what you get for letting your guard down," Aaron said.

"It sure has a lot of spunk," Brock said.

"A little too much, if you ask me," Ash said as he held his PokéBall in one hand and rubbed his head with the other.

"I think this Chamander has an attitude problem," Misty said.

Pikachu just walked closer to Charmander and jumped up on the rock. The two Pokémon then started to have a small conversation. After a while, Pikachu jumped down from the rock and walked towards the four trainers.

"What's the story, Pikachu?" Ash asked the yellow rodent.

Pikachu then started to do body language, just as it had done back at Mt. Moon.

"A necktie?" Misty guessed.

"Hmm… a man, maybe," Ash guessed, to which Pikachu raised its arm, signaling a correct answer.

Pikachu then continued to do some more body language to tell Chamander's story.

"I don't get it," Misty said.

"Hey, Ash, why don't you try to figure out what Pikachu's saying?" Aaron suggested.

Pikachu continued its body language as the four trainers kneeled to get a better look at each sign.

"Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Ok, I think I've got it," Ash said as he stood up, followed by Misty and Aaron. "Pikachu says that Charmander's waiting on that rock for somebody to come and get it," Ash said.

"You mean it belongs to somebody?" Misty wondered.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure," Ash said.

"But who'd just leave it here?" Aaron asked.

"If it's waiting for someone, I think we better leave it," Brock suggested as he stood up. "It's probably best if its own trainer takes care of it."

"I hope its trainer comes back soon," Ash said.

The four trainers then turned around and walked away from Charmander. While they walked, Misty spotted something not too far away.

"Hey, you guys, look over there," Misty said, pointing towards a wooden building with a giant "P" on the roof. "It's the Pokémon Center."

"The one on the map," Ash said. "Route 24 can't be too far"

"At least we can finally have some place to rest," Aaron said.

Storm clouds started to roll in and it suddenly started to rain heavily.

"Hurry!" Ash shouted as the four trainers ran towards the Pokémon Center.

Once the four of them made it inside, they found someplace to sit and have something to eat and drink.

"Here's some nice hot soup," Misty said as she passed a bowl each to Ash, Aaron and Brock.

"Thank you, Misty," Aaron said as he took his.

"Yeah, thanks," Ash said, taking his bowl as well.

"Have some soup, Brock," Misty offered, but Brock didn't even seem to hear her, appearing to be deep in thought. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"I wonder. Do you think anybody picked up that Charmander yet?" Brock said, somewhat worried about the Fire-type. "What if its trainer left it there?"

"I don't think the Charmander would wait around this long, do you?" Ash asked.

"I agree with Ash. I doubt anyone would leave their Pokémon behind for so long if it was going to wait there for them to come back," Aaron said.

"You're right. Its trainer must have gotten it by now," Brock said.

The four trainers then heard laughter coming from nearby and turned their heads to look.

"Sure got a lot of 'em," one boy said.

"Sure," said a second.

"Just look at 'em. It's a pretty cool collection," said a boy with blue hair and sunglasses.

"Heh heh! Way cool!" said another boy.

"You're the man, Damian," said a fifth boy.

"Yo, I thought you had a Charmander, too," a sixth boy said.

"Yeah, I had one, but that puny thing was so weak it couldn't even beat the weakest opponents," said Damian, the blue-haired boy with the sunglasses.

Misty took a seat next to Aaron as all four trainers listened in from where they were sitting.

"I don't like his attitude," Misty said.

"Charmander may be weak against _Water_ Pokémon, but if their trainers work hard, they can be strong," Brock said.

"So what did you do with the Charmander?" one of the boys asked Damian.

"Ah, I left it on some rock in the woods," Damian answered.

"Huh?" Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock wondered as they looked at each other.

"That thing is so stupid. No matter what I do to it, it keeps on following me. I finally got rid of it by promising I'd come back for it. It fell for it," Damian said. "It's probably still there waitin' for me."

Damian and the boys standing around him all started to laugh.

"He's the one who abandoned that Charmander," Aaron said.

"Yeah, and it's still waiting for him on that rock," Misty added.

Brock slammed his hands on the table and stood up before walking towards Damian.

"Brock! What are you doing?!" Ash asked.

"I bet it's still up there, waggin' its tail," one of the boys around Damian said.

"It'll probably wag it so long it'll put the flame out," a second boy said.

"Yeah, for sure," Damian said before he started to laugh.

But then Brock grabbed Damian by his collar and picked him up from his seat.

"Hey, what are you--" Damian said, but was cut off when Brock spoke.

"Go and get it!" Brock yelled at the blue-haired trainer.

"Huh?" Damian wondered.

"That Charmander is still waiting for you. Go and get it, now!" Brock demanded.

"Why should I?" Damian questioned.

"You lied to your Pokémon and said you'd be back. Now it's waiting out there in the rain for you, and if its tail flame goes out, it'll die," Brock said.

Brock and Damian just glared at each other until Damian pushed Brock off of him.

"Oi! What I do is none of your business!" Damian said.

"Do what he says!" Ash yelled at the blue-haired trainer.

"What'd you say, nerd?" Damian asked.

"You heard what I said," Ash answered. "And you wanna be a Pokémon trainer."

"You're disgusting," Misty said.

"The lowest of the low," Aaron added.

Damian then grabbed one of his PokéBals off the table.

"You wanna fight with me?" Damian asked.

"You'd better not mess with Damian," one of Damian's buddies said.

"Let's go!" Ash challenged as he reached for one of his own PokéBalls.

The two groups just stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Let's break it up. You know the rules," Nurse Joy said as she stood between the two groups.

"Huh?" all the trainers wondered as they looked at Nurse Joy.

"Pokémon are never to be used in personal fights. It's disrespectful to the Pokémon and their trainers," Nurse Joy explained.

"Yeah? Well, tell them they were the ones what started it," Damian said as he walked away.

One of Damian's buddies then grabbed the rest of Damian's PokéBalls off the table and quickly followed the blue-haired trainer.

"I think you'd be better off not to get mixed up with them," Nurse Joy said to the group of four. "They have a very bad reputation."

"Uh, thanks for the advice," Brock said, a slight blush on his face appearing when Nurse Joy turned towards him and the nurse only giggled a bit in response before walking away. "She sure is pretty. I've never seen anyone as pretty as her."

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. She looks just like every other Nurse Joy. I don't see what's so different about this one," Aaron added.

"Yeah, it's a joyful… world," Ash said in a failed attempt to make a joke before he grabbed Brock's shoulder and tried to snap the older trainer out of his daydream. "All right! Snap out of it!"

"Huh? Huh…" was all Brock got out of his mouth.

"Oh! Quit spacin' out!" Misty said.

"Yeah. What about Charmander?" Aaron asked.

"Ah, that's right!" Brock said, finally coming to his senses. "We've got to help it!"

The four trainers then borrowed some raincoats from Nurse Joy and ran out of the Pokémon Center and back to where Chamander was.

"This is dangerous. Going out in a storm like this to help a Pokémon," Misty stated. "What if we all catch pneumonia?"

"Well, nobody asked you to follow along," Ash said rather rudely.

"Gotta help a Pokémon in need," Misty said.

'_Misty's such a great person. Always thinking of others before herself,_' Aaron thought to himself, but then he looked ahead and sweatdropped as he looked at Ash. '_Except on_ one _occasion._'

The four trainers continued to run towards the rock where Chamander was waiting. When they arrived, they saw a group of Spearow attacking the Charmander.

"Knock it off!" Ash shouted as he threw a rock at the Spearows.

The Flying-types then turned their attention to the trainers and started to attack them. Ash tried to defend himself by pushing the Spearow away with his arm while Brock took off his raincoat and tried to hit the Spearow with it.

"Thundershock, Pikachu!" Ash told his Pokémon once the Spearow backed off.

Pikachu did as it was told and released the blast of electricity, but not did the rodent hit the Spearow, it hit the four trainers as well. Once the Spearow flew away, Pikachu turned around to face the trainers only to see them on the ground.

""Next time, make sure you don't shock us, too, Pikachu," Ash said.

Pikachu just scratched the back of its head in embarrassment. Ash and Brock climbed up the rock while Misty and Aaron stayed below to make sure the two didn't slip and fall off.

""Oh, no! The flame on its tail is almost out!" Ash said.

"Let's get it to the Pokémon Center," Brock said as he put his raincoat around Charmander.

"I'll make sure its tail flame stays lit," Ash said as he took off his raincoat.

The four of them then ran towards the Pokémon Center with Brock holding Charmander close to him with his raincoat still wrapped around the Lizard Pokémon while Ash ran beside Brock, holding his raincoat above Charmander's tail to make sure the fire didn't go out.

"Hold on! You can make it, Charmander!" Brock said.

The four of them kept running until they reached the Pokémon Center, in which they practically busted through the doors to get in.

"Oh. Joy, please help us," Ash asked the nurse.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Nurse Joy ask as she ran towards the four trainers.

"This Charmander is in bad shape," Brock answered.

"The flame on its tail," Ash pointed out.

"Ohh! There's not much time," Nurse Joy said after she took a closer inspection at Charmander.

Nurse Joy and the four trainers rushed Charmander into the E.R. room to be treated.

"Will it survive?" Brock asked Nurse Joy.

"Charmander is very weak. How could you let it get into this condition?" Nurse Joy asked the four trainers sternly.

"It's not our fault," Ash said.

"This is Damian's Charmander. The one he abandoned," Aaron answered.

"What?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yeah. Damian promised Charmander to come back for it. Charmander's loyal to Damian, so it believed him," Ash answered.

"Poor Charmander," Nurse Joy said. "And Damian just left with the rest of them."

"Joy, I'm begging you, please save it," Brock said. "Charmander has got to get better."

"I'll do whatever I can," Nurse Joy said to give Brock some reassurance.

The four trainers then left the E.R. room as the light can on, indicating it was in use. The four of them just stood outside the doors. Ash and Misty did everything they could to pass the time, like pacing back and forth, playing with Pikachu, or counting in their heads while Aaron just sat on one of the seats and Brock just stared at the door.

'_Charmander, you've got to hold on. Please, keep your flame burning,_' Brock thought to himself.

A dinging sound could be heard as the light to the E.R. room turned off. The four trainers stood in front of the door together to wait for the news. Nurse Joy walked out of the room and seemed sad, so the trainers assumed the worst. But then Nurse Joy looked up at them and smiled.

"Ahh," the four trainers said together, relieved that Charmander was going to be fine.

"Charmander's recovering," Nurse Joy said as she let the trainers have a look. "It should be fine by morning."

The four trainers just watched as Charmander lay there asleep.

'_That's the spirit, Charmander,_' Brock thought to himself.

Later that night, the four trainers had fallen asleep in the lobby. Misty and Aaron were asleep on the couch and were conveniently close to each other, as in their heads were inches apart from each other. Ash, on the other hand, had been forced to sleep on the floor. Upon daybreak, Brock ran into the lobby.

"Wake up, everybody!" Brock yelled.

"Ah!" Ash screamed, not used to being yelled at to be woken up.

Misty and Aaron just sat up and rubbed their eyes.

"What's up, Brock?" Aaron asked rather tiredly.

"Yeah, what's the matter?" Misty asked.

"It's Charmander," Brock said, and he appeared to be out of breath. "Charmander has disappeared from the E.R."

"But how?" Ash asked.

The four trainers then ran into the E.R. to see Nurse Joy standing by an open window.

"I bet it went back to that rock to wait for Damian," Ash assumed.

"We've gotta go back," Brock said.

"But that's no use," Misty said.

"Misty's right. We can't force Charmander to come with us if it wants to wait for Damian," Aaron added.

"He's right. There's nothing you can do until Charmander realizes the truth," Nurse Joy said.

After a while, the four trainers left the Pokémon Center and continued towards Route 24.

"I thought Charmander understood that _we_ cared about it," Brock said with a sigh.

"Brock, Charmander knew that we cared, but don't you see? It couldn't forget about Damian. It's still loyal to him," Ash said. "That's why it went back."

Brock was about to say something when Misty slapped him in the back.

"Come on! Route 24 is just ahead. Once we get to Vermilion City, there'll be plenty of Pokémon," Misty said as she continued to walk ahead along with Aaron.

"Ahh…" was all Brock could say out of defeat as he and Ash followed behind Misty and Aaron.

As the four trainers continued walking, they all felt like something was giving way underneath them.

""Whoa! You feel something?" Ash asked.

"I did!" Brock answered.

"Huh? Feel what?" Misty asked.

"Maybe you two are getting paranoid," Aaron thought aloud.

Suddenly the ground beneath the four trainers disappeared.

"Aah!" all four of them yelled as they fell into a pit.

"I can't believe they fell for it," the four trainers heard someone say and they recognized it was Meowth from Team Rocket.

"Our invention worked. We're geniuses!" Jessie said.

"Pi!" Pikachu said in surprise.

"Come with us, Pikachu," James said.

Pikachu stepped back a bit and let loose with an electric attack. Unfortunately, the suits Team Rocket were wearing absorbed the electric energy.

"Rubber won't conduct electricity," James stated.

"Just another example of our incredible genius at work," Jessie gloated.

"You have to be a rocket scientist to outsmart us-- the "Team Rocket Scientists"," James said.

"We call these our Anti-Pikachu suits. We made them ourselves," Jessie said. "I must admit, I don't think this is really my color at all, but--"

"Enough talk! Let's just grab the Pikachu and get outta here!" Meowth yelled.

Pikachu then started to run for it before Team Rocket could catch it, but James pulled out what seemed to be a rocket launcher.

"We'll use our Anti-Pikachu Rubber Balloon Bazooka," James said as he took steady aim.

"Ready, aim…" Jessie said. "Fire!"

James pulled the trigger and what appeared to be a giant red balloon slowly shot out of the weapon and slowly chased Pikachu. It eventually caught up with the mouse and somehow trapped it inside by squishing against the small yellow rodent.

"Pikachu! Pikachu!" Jessie, James and Meowth started to taunt while Pikachu was trapped in the giant rubber ball.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out as he heard his Pokémon in trouble.

Ash then tried to climb up the side of the hole but fell right back down before he could reach the top.

"Come on, you guys, get up! We gotta do something," Ash said to his friends.

"We'd love to get up, Ash," Misty said.

"But first would you mind getting off of us?" Aaron shouted.

The four trainers then heard Jessie start to laugh from above the hole.

"Hello, down there. Thank you so much for _dropping_ in," Jessie said.

"Don't worry. Pikachu is safe with us. We won't lose it, like you did," James said as he held the rubber ball, which seemed to now be a rubber bag, which contained Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" was all Ash could say as he watched his Pokémon the hands of Team Rocket and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Let's get outta here," Meowth said as Team Rocket turned around to leave.

"Charmander!" the four trainers heard from in the pit.

"What is _that_ thing?" Jessie wondered.

"Char, charmander…" the orange Lizard Pokémon said.

"Huh. It's sayin' you better give Pikachu back to those guys right now," Meowth translated for Jessie and James.

"It's got to be kidding," Jessie said.

"Now, step aside, you insolent little firebug," James said. "We haven't got time to play with you."

"Team Rocket's rough, so get moving," Meowth ordered Charmander.

Charmander just stood there and appeared to be charging energy.

"Huh?" all three Team Rocket members wondered.

The next thing they knew, Charmander released a powerful stream of fire right at them. Team Rocket just stood there as the rubber bag that held Pikachu was dropped and Jessie, James and Meowth ran away.

"You see? Didn't I tell you we needed fireproof uniforms?" James said.

"Shut up and keep running!" Jessie shouted.

"Some geniuses! Meowth!" Meowth yelled as the three of them disappeared from Charmander's view.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" all three shouted.

The four trainers were finally able to climb out of the hole.

"Wow! Thanks for the help, Charmander," Brock thanked the Fire-type.

"You see, Brock? Charmander knew we cared," Misty said. "That's why it's here."

"Way to go," Brock said.

"Charmander, how'd you like to join up with us?" Ash asked the Lizard Pokémon. "I'm afraid your trainer isn't going to be coming back."

"Hey, Charmander, been lookin' all over for ya," the four trainers heard someone say, only to turn around and see Damian.

"Damian, it's you!" Ash said.

"What do you want?" Brock asked.

"I came back for Charmander, just like I promised," Damian answered.

"Huh?" all four trainers wondered as they stared at Damian in disbelief.

"So let's go," Damian said to the Fire Pokémon.

Charmander started to whine a little as it turned around to face its new friends.

"Careful, this trainer's already abandoned you once before," Brock warned Charmander.

"Charmander is mine. I'm the one who caught it, remember? " Damian reminded the four trainers.

"Damian, you bragged about how you abandoned it!" Ash yelled.

"Good thing I did! That toughened it up!" Damian shot back. "Besides, what's wrong with dumpin' off a weak Pokémon? I wasn't gonna come back for it, but now that I've seen what it can do, I'm real glad I ran into you guys. The best thing is, I didn't have to raise it meself."

"That's terrible!" Misty shouted.

"You're sick!" Aaron added.

"Raising a Pokémon is the best part of being a trainer," Brock said.

"You wish. It's the most boring part of the job," Damian said.

"How dare you call yourself a Pokémon trainer!" Brock yelled at the blue-haired trainer.

"You see? He doesn't care about you. He just wants to use you to win matches," Misty said to the orange Pokémon as she kneeled down to it.

"Charmander," Ash said to the Fire-type.

"Charmander," Brock said to the Lizard Pokémon.

"Charmander, return!" Damian ordered as he threw a PokéBall at the Fire Pokémon.

Charmander, however, just hit the ball with its tail and sent it right back into Damian's face.

"Oh!" the four trainers said as they saw what happened.

"That must have hurt," Aaron added.

"Grrr! That does it!" Damian yelled as soon as the PokéBall fell from his face. "I'll crush you with every Pokémon I've got!"

Damian then grabbed all of his PokéBalls and was ready to throw them all when Charmander let loose a Flamethrower attack on its old trainer. Pikachu joined in by using a Thunderbolt attack on Damian.

"Boo-hoo-hoo! Mummy!" Damian cried as he ran off in the opposite direction.

"Way to go, Charmander!" Brock cheered.

"Yeah, good work!" Ash congratulated.

Pikachu then walked back over beside Ash. While Charmander turned around to face the four trainers again.

"Go ahead, Ash. You get Charmander," Brock said. "It'll be a great Pokémon."

"But, Brock, you saved it, so you deserve it, I guess," Ash said.

"Right, but don't forget, you're the one who kept the flame on its tail lit," Brock said. "I'm sure you'll raise Charmander to become a great Pokémon."

"Thank you, Brock," Ash said, then he looked at the Lizard Pokémon. "Come on, Charmander. Welcome to the group!"

Ash gently tossed an empty PokéBall while Charmander jumped right into it.

"You got a Pokémon and a new friend," Misty said.

"Yeah!" Ash said.

Now with Charmander on his team, Ash, along with Misty, Aaron and Brock, continue towards Vermilion City.

* * *

**Me: So what did you all think?**

**Aaron: I thought it was good. Damian got what he deserved.**

**Misty: But one question. Why did you have Aaron and I sleep so close?**

**Me: Its for something in the future.**

**Ash: But wasn't I the one who slept on the couch in the original episode? Why'd you make me sleep on the floor?**

**Me: Because, personally, I think you're a complete and utter moron back in the early seasons. It's not until around the time you go to Hoenn that you start acting even slightly responsible.**

**Ash: Oh yeah? Well you suck.**

**Me: *sarcastic* Nice comeback.**

**Ash: I know, right?**

***everyone but Ash hits themselves in the face***

**Me: Ash, you are really starting to make me really mad outside of the story right now.**

**Brock: Uh... I better do the closer before a fight breaks out. Please, R&R, everyone.**


	9. Here Comes The Squirtle Squad

**Me: Ok. Next chapter.**

***everyone but Ash stares at me***

**Me: What?**

**Misty: You have a black eye. (the black eye is only for this out-of-story section. I don't really have a black eye)**

**Me: I do? Well you can thank Ash for that.**

**Brock: Ash did that?**

**Me: Yeah. After you did the closer, Ash and I started fighting. He got me pretty good.**

**Ash: Yeah? Well you broke my nose!**

**Me: You deserved it!**

**Ash: And so did you!**

**Aaron: Guys, guys. Calm down. Both of you. Ash, you know you can't be in this without AzureKite4. And AzureKite4, you know you won't have a fanfiction if Ash winds up in the hospital.**

**Me: *sigh* You're right. Ash, truce?**

**Ash: Uh... what does that mean?**

**Me: Geez you're an idiot. It means we both agree not to fight.**

**Ash: Oh. Ok, sure. I agree.**

***Ash and I shake hands***

**Brock: That was close.**

**Me: Not like it matters. I'll probably decide to kill Ash off once this fanfic is over. He'll die on his way to Hoenn.**

**Ash: WHAT?!**

**Misty: WOULD YOU TWO STOP IT?! YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!**

**Me: Sorry, Misty.**

**Ash: Sorry.**

**Misty: And you can't kill Ash off. HE STILL OWES ME FOR MY BIKE!**

**Me: Alright, alright. I won't kill the little bastard.**

**Aaron: I better give the disclaimer quick so we can start the story. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 9: Episode 12: Here Comes The Squirtle Squad-

As the four trainers headed towards Vermilion City, Ash began humming a song, probably happy that he was able to get both a Bulbasaur and a Charmander. However, it isn't long before Ash somehow gets his foot stuck in the road. When Misty, Aaron and Brock go to check it out, all four of them fall into a pit.

"No, not another hole," Misty complained.

"Ow! I landed on my head," Brock said.

"Ow, my back," Aaron said.

All four trainers stood up and tried to piece together what had happened.

""It must be a prank," Brock suggested.

"Someone has a bad sense of humor," Misty said.

"Who would play such a rotten trick?" Ash wondered.

All four trainers looked up and saw five Squirtle looking down at them and laughing.

"Who are you?" Brock asked.

"What's so funny? We could've been hurt," Misty said.

But the five Squirtle just laughed again.

The four trainers climbed out of the hole and looked at the group of Squirtle.

"Dangerous practical jokes are nothing to laugh about," Ash said.

The five Squirtle still just laughed at the trainers. Ash took a step towards the Squirtle and held out his Pokédex.

"Squirtle. This Tiny Turtle Pokémon draws its long neck into its shell to laugh incredible water attacks with amazing range and accuracy. The blasts can be quite powerful," the machine said.

"With my very own Squirtle, Gary will never beat me. Go, Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu charged at the group of Squirtle and released a blast of electricity. The attack headed towards the assumed leader of the Squirtles when another Squirtle of the group jumped in front of the attack and took the hit. The Squirtle leader and Pikachu then just stared each other down until the sound of sirens heading their way caused the group of Squirtle to make a break for it and ran away.

"That sure was weird," Ash said as the four trainers watched the Squirtle group run.

"Very weird," Aaron added in.

A motorcycle screeched to a halt near the trainers.

"Are you guys alright?" the Officer Jenny asked. "Has anyone been hurt here?"

"Officer Jenny," Ash said.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me," Aaron said to himself as he saw Ash walk up to the policewoman.

"Huh? Have we met before?" Jenny asked. "Your face doesn't look familiar."

"W met back in Viridian City, remember?" Ash tried to remind the officer.

"I thought so. Ash doesn't know there are Officer Jenny's in every city either," Aaron said to himself.

"Oh, you mean one of the other Jennys. My cousins," Officer Jenny said.

"Cousin?" Ash repeated.

"My cousins are all police officers. All of us look identical, plus we're all named Jenny," Jenny said as she held out a picture.

"Talk about family resemblance," Ash said.

"At least they remember all their names," Misty said.

"Considering they all share the same one," Aaron added.

Officer Jenny then took the four trainers to the police station to explain about the group of Squirtles.

"That Pokémon gang calls itself the Squirtle Squad," Officer Jenny said.

"Squirtle Squad?" Ash repeated.

"I've never heard of a Pokémon gang," Misty said.

"Me neither. This is a first," Aaron said.

"They're all Squirtles who were deserted by their Pokémon trainers," Jenny said.

"Deserted?" Ash repeated.

"They don't have a trainer, so they just run wild and play tricks on the whole town' Jenny explained. "It's really kind of sad because if they had somebody to care about them, they wouldn't have turned out as bad as they are. It's a real shame."

After a full explanation about the Squirtle Squad, the four trainers bid farewell to Officer Jenny and continued on their way to Vermilion. Eventually the four trainers decided to take a break. They found a lake to rest and relax. Ash and Brock lay on the grass while Misty and Aaron tried fishing for some Water Pokémon.

"Huh?" Misty spoke up as she saw her line get pulled. "I caught something."

"Way to go, Misty," Aaron said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he sat up.

However, it turned out to be one of the Squirtle Squad members. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon fired a Water Gun at the trainers, completely soaking them.

"I'm soaked," Misty said.

"Me, too," Aaron said.

Pikachu just shook the water off and ran near the lake's edge. The yellow mouse released an electric attack, but ended up hitting the four trainers instead of the Squirtle.

"Aah! Knock it off, Pikachu! Aah!" Ash screamed.

Pikachu stopped its attack and turned to the trainers.

"Wet clothes conduct electricity," Brock said as he and the other three trainers fell over.

The Squirtle in the lake just started laughing at the misfortune of the Humans. Squirtle then jumped out of the lake and onto the main path. After recovering from the electric attack, the four trainers stood up and walked back onto the path to face the Squirtle.

"I've had enough of your pranks, Squirtle!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, it's out of the water now!"

Pikachu ran forward to attack the Squirtle, but the Water-type jumped in the air, pulled itself into its shell, and started to spin as it hit Pikachu. The Electric-type was sent flying into the lake.

"Oh, Pikachu!" Ash called out.

A Goldeen jumped from in the lake and Misty spotted it heading for Pikachu.

"Oh, it's a Goldeen. Watch out for its horn!" Misty called out to Pikachu.

Pkiachu resurfaced and started to look around for the Goldeen, but it had already gone back underwater.

"Swim to shore, Pikachu. Hurry up!" Ash said.

Pikachu started to paddle in the water, but the Goldeen was catching up fast.

"Faster, faster!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Pikachu tried to swim as fast as it could, but it was tossed into the air after being struck by Goldeen's horn. The Electric-type landed on the grass badly injured.

"Pikachu! Ohh!" Ash yelled out as he tried to run to Pikachu's aid.

But four sets of rope wrapped around each of the trainers, stopping them in their tracks.

"They got us," Ash said in defeat.

The four Squirtle quickly ran around the four trainers and tied them together. The Squirtle Squad leader just laughed as Meowth walked out from behind a tree, also laughing.

"You're not gonna "Squirtle" out of this one," Meowth said.

"It's Meowth," Misty said.

"Meowth?!" Ash repeated.

Meowth just laughed and he, along with the five members of the Squirtle Squad, took the four trainers and Pikachu to a small cave. Pikachu was put in a cage while the trainers were tied up to a rock.

"I'm the Pokémon in charge here. Ha!" Meowth said. "Just wait until my Human pets get back."

Meowth then started poking Ash in the face with his tail in a taunting manner, only to have Ash end up biting it.

"Meowth!" the Scratch Cat Pokémon screamed in pain.

"Don't believe him, Squirtles. Meowth's a big liar. Those humans aren't Meowth's pets. Team Rocket's just trying to trick you all into doing their dirty work," Ash said.

"Squirtle?" the Squirtle Squad leader questioned.

"Quiet, human!" Meowth yelled as he scratched Ash's face. "Who are you gonna believe, this human or a fellow Pokémon?"

All the Squirtle nodded in agreement with Meowth. Brock looked over at Pikachu before turning his attention to Ash.

"Ash, Pikachu's in bad shape," Brock said.

"Huh?" Ash asked, worried about his friend.

"We've got to do something," Misty said.

"If we could get our hands on a Super Potion, we can help Pikachu," Aaron said.

"But we don't have any Super Potion. What can we do?" Ash asked.

"A shop in town sells it," Brock answered.

"In town?" Ash repeated, then turned his attention to the Squirtle Squad. "Squirtle Squad, please, you've got to let me go into town. If I don't get the medicine, Pikachu's in a lot of trouble."

"Squirtle, squirtle, squirtle, squirtle, squirtle," the Squirtle Squad leader said as it shook its head.

"They know you humans are just trying to get away," Meowth translated.

"Trust me, I won't run away. As soon as I buy the medicine, I'll come back, I promise," Ash begged.

"Squirtle," the leader said.

"Squirtle said promises are cheap," Meowth translated again.

"I'm begging you. Please trust me.," Ash said as he looked at the ground and started to cry.

The Squirtle Squad leader saw this and then looked over at Pikachu before making its decision to let Ash go.

"Squirtle squirtle, squirtle squirtle," the Squirtle Squad leader said.

"The Squirtle says if you're not back here by noon tomorrow, the red-headed girl gets her hair dyed purple," Meowth translated.

"Purple?! Why, you many little fleatrap, when I get out of this, I'm gonna wrap your tail around--" Misty said, but was soon cut off.

"Hang on!" Aaron interrupted.

"Huh?" everyone wondered as they looked at Aaron.

'_If they're threatening Misty, then I have to be certain Ash gets back here with that Super Potion in time,_' Aaron thought to himself. "Let me go with you, Ash."

"What?" Ash asked.

"And why should we let you go?" Meowth asked.

"We all know Ash is incompetent. I'll go with him to make sure he gets the Super Potion and that he comes right back," Aaron said.

"Hey!" Ash yelled, but then noticed a look in Aaron's eye that said to trust him, so Ash nodded in response.

"And how can we trust _you_? You have nothing at stake here," Meowth said.

"Then how about a bargain?" Aaron requested.

"Bargain?" Meowth repeated.

"Right. If Ash and I aren't back by noon tomorrow…" Aaron started, almost regretting this decision. "I'll hand my Fearow, Tentacool and Oddish to you."

"What?! Aaron, you can't be serious!" Misty yelled.

"Misty's right! You don't have to come along!" Ash agreed with Misty.

"My offer still stands, Meowth! Either way it works in your favor. Either you get Ash's Pikachu completely healed or you get my three Pokémon," Aaron said, hoping Meowth would take it.

"Alright, that sounds like a good deal," Meowth said.

The other three trainers stared in disbelief at what Aaron was doing, but he turned his head towards Misty and Brock.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure Ash gets the Super Potion. Meowth won't be getting Pikachu," Aaron whispered to the two other trainers.

Meowth untied Aaron and he stood next to Ash.

"Just one thing before we go," Aaron said.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Meowth asked.

"If even one hair on Misty's head is not its natural color by the time we get back, you're going to be in for a world of hurt," Aaron threatened.

Aaron then ran out of the cave followed by Ash. The two trainers ran as fast as they could to try and reach the town. However, Ash just glared angrily at Aaron.

"What?!" Aaron shouted at Ash.

"You know what! You were going to let them take my Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"You idiot! Do you really think I'd let them steal a Pokémon? I'm only coming with you to make sure they don't do anything to Misty," Aaron said.

"So you lied about giving up your Pokémon as well?" Ash asked.

"Right. They're too important to me. Especially Tentacool. If there's a single Pokémon I'd never give up, it's my Tentacool," Aaron answered.

Ash just nodded as they continued to run. However, Ash ended up tripping on a rock and falling on his face.

"Ash!" Aaron said.

The brown-haired boy grabbed Ash and helped him back up.

"You ok?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just get to the town," Ash said.

"Right," Aaron agreed.

They continued running again until they reached a bridge. It was completely worn out and seemed like it would break in two at any moment if any extra weight as added. The two trainers just stared at the bridge.

"We have no choice. We have to cross. The town is just on the other side," Aaron said, then he looked at Ash and they nodded at each other.

Aaron went first to make sure the bridge was safe and Ash followed soon after.

"Aaah! Ohh… ohh," Ash yelled as he nearly fell from one of the wooden stepps snapping in two.

"Ash, you all right?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, I'll be just fine," Ash answered.

The younger trainer pulled himself up and the two of them decided to walk across slowly. Unfortunately, the two trainers heard something snap and the bridge suddenly started to fall. Aaron quickly grabbed one of his PokéBalls and threw it.

"Fearow!" Aaron called out.

The PokéBall opened, revealing the Beak Pokémon. Fearow flew down and caught Aaron.

"Phew. Man, that was like a repeat of that hidden village," Aaron said to himself.

"Aaaah!" Aaron heard Ash scream.

"No, Ash!" Aaron yelled as he looked over Fearow and saw the young boy fall into the water.

But it wasn't long until Ash was sent flying right back up. Aaron looked down again and saw a Goldeen.

"That must have hurt," Aaron said.

Luckily, Ash landed on the side of the bridge that the town was on. Aaron jumped down from Fearow and landed next to Ash before recalling Fearow.

"Ow," was all Ash said.

"Come on, Ash. We need to get that Super Potion for Pikachu," Aaron reminded him.

"You're right," Ash said as he got back up and the two of them walked into the town.

Once they reached the town, they saw the building that had a "Shop" sign on the roof.

"That's it. That's the place," Ash said.

"We made it here fairly quickly," Aaron said.

Ash walked up to the door while Aaron decided to wait for him. However, when Ash went to open the door, it swung open on its own and smashed Ash in the face. The person who had opened the door from the other side had a purple long-sleeved shirt on, a green and yellow yingyang pendant around his neck and brown spiky hair. Aaron just watched the boy leave and Ash fell backwards out cold once the door closed. Aaron just sweatdropped.

"He has the worst luck it seems," Aaron said to himself.

The brown-haired boy just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the shop and up to the counter.

"I'd like to buy one Super Potion, please," Aaron requested.

"Sure thing," the shopkeeper said.

Once Aaron paid for the medicine, he walked back outside and checked to see if Ash was awake. But of course, Ash was still knocked out. Aaron let out a sigh.

"Guess I have to wait here until he wakes up," Aaron said as he stepped into the alley and sat down.

Aaron waited and waited for Ash to wake up so they could get back to the cave, but Ash was still out cold. Night soon came and Ash still didn't wake up. Aaron decided he'd get some rest and soon fell asleep with his back against the wall of the shop. The following morning, Ash woke up and started to panic, which caused Aaron to wake up.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Aaron asked.

"We need to get the Super Potion!" Ash yelled.

"Calm down. I got it after you were knocked out," Aaron said, holding up the bag that held the medicine.

"Oh. But then why'd you stay?" Ash asked.

"I figured you'd panic like you just did. Plus you needed to be sure I got the Super Potion," Aaron said as he stood up. "Now then, let's get back to the others."

"Right," Ash said.

But before the two of them could head back to the cave, they heard something from inside the shop.

"All right, freeze!" Jessie said.

"These are ice packs we're gunning-- I mean, ice guns we're packing," James said.

Jessie was holding a bazooka while James was carrying some kind of machine gun.

"It's Team Rocket!" one person in the shop shouted.

"Team Rocket?" Ash and Aaron repeated from outside, but stayed hidden.

"Cool, we're just like those supervillains in the comic books, except better looking," Jessie said.

"And even meaner,: James added.

"Listen up, we want all the Flash Powder you've got," Jessie demanded.

"And a large roll of dental floss," James added.

"W-what do you need them for?" the clerk asked.

"You want to get rid of the Squirtle Squad, don't you? The Flash Powder will scare them out of town," Jessie answered. "The floss is for our teeth."

"The Squirtle Squad," Ash repeated.

"No," Aaron said. '_That means Misty and Brock will be in danger too._'

"Ciao for now," James said as he walked backwards out of the store.

"Farewell! Ooh!" Jessie said as she fired the bazooka.

The two members of Team Rocket ran off towards their balloon.

"We have to hurry!" Ash said.

"Hold on," Aaron said.

"What is it?" Ash asked as Aaron handed him the bag with the Super Potion.

"Take this," Aaron said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"I'll go on ahead with Fearow to make sure nothing's happened to Misty or Brock. You find your way back and I'll try to stall Meowth and get Misty, Brock, Pikachu and the Squirtle Squad to safety," Aaron answered.

"Right. Be careful then," Ash said, earning a nod in response from Aaron.

After Aaron called out his Fearow, he jumped onto the Beak Pokémon's back and flew off towards the cave as fast as he could.

'_Hold on, guys. We're on our way,_' Aaron thought to himself. "Fearow, think you could go faster?"

"Fear!" the Flying Pokémon screeched and started flying at full speed.

It didn't wake very long for Aaron to reach the cave. He looked down and saw everyone was outside. Misty and Brock were untied and Brock was holding Pikachu. Aaron then jumped down and returned Fearow to its ball.

"Aaron!" Misty called out and both she and Brock ran up to him.

"Are you two all right?" Aaron asked.

"We're fine," Misty said.

"But what about Ash? And where's the Super Potion?" Brock asked.

"He's on his way with it right now. I went on a head to make sure you guys were safe," Aaron answered.

"Safe? What for?" Misty asked.

"Jessie and James are on their way. If we don't get out of here fast, they're going to blast this entire area," Aaron said.

"What?!" both Misty and Brock yelled.

Aaron then looked at Misty.

"Huh? What is it?" Misty wondered.

Aaron just pointed at Misty's head.

"Your hair isn't purple," Aaron said.

"Nope, I'm still a redhead," Misty said.

"The Squirtle Squad was bluffing," Brock said.

"They play tricks, but they'd never change a girl's natural hair color," Misty said.

"That's good," Aaron said with a sigh. "Besides, I think you look better as a redhead."

Misty blushed at Aaron's comment and the brown-haired boy mentally kicked himself.

'_Why the heck did I say that?_' Aaron though to himself.

The three trainers then heard something from inside the cave. They turned around and saw Ash.

"Hey, you guys are ok!" Ash said happily.

"Where's the Super Potion for Pikachu?" Misty asked.

Ash reached into the bag and pulled out the medicine, then handed it to Misty.

"Hurry, let's spray this on Pikachu," Misty said.

Brock gently put Pikachu on the ground and Misty started to spray the medicine on the yellow Pokémon. Ash then looked at Misty and then at Aaron.

"Well, looks like you didn't have to go through with your threat," Ash said.

"Yeah," Aaron said, though was still mentally asking himself why he said that comment to Misty.

All of a sudden, the four trainers heard an explosion nearby.

"Oh, no! Team Rocket!" Aaron shouted.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation," James said.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above," they both said.

"Jessie."

"James."

"Squirtle Squad, it's payback time for insulting Team Rocket," Jessie said.

"Bombs away," they both said as they each dropped a bomb.

The bombs hit the side of the cave. During the distraction, Jessie threw down the ladder.

"Meowth, carry Pikachu up the ladder," Jessie ordered.

"And the rest of you are in for a real blast. Get it?" James said.

When the bombs are going off, Meowth managed to get a hold of Pikachu. The Scratch Cat Pokémon then grabbed the ladder.

"Meowth!" Meowth said as it was pulled up the ladder while holding Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Jessie and James dropped more bombs. This time they were landing near the trainers and the Squirtle Squad.

"Quick, run for cover. Head for the cave!" Ash told his friends and the Squirtles.

"Hurry!" Misty yelled as everyone made a run for it.

"Squirtle!" Ash heard from behind him.

The Squirtle Squad leader had been tossed onto its back by the blast from one of the bombs and couldn't get up.

"Squirtle!" Ash called out.

Jessie and James dropped two more bombs from the balloon.

"Here I come!" Ash yelled out as he dove for the Squirtle.

"Uhh! Ash!" Misty yelled.

When the smoke cleared, Ash and Squirtle were on the ground with Ash covering Squirtle.

"Hey, Squirtle, are you ok?" Ash asked the Tiny Turtle Pokémon.

"Squirtle," the Pokémon answered weakly.

Jessie and James dropped two more bombs.

"Here come two more!" Aaron shouted.

"Save yourself, Squirtle. Run for it," Ash said to the Squirtle.

Squirtle just looked at Ash before it picked him up and ran for the cave as fast as it could. Squirtle jumped just in time to use one of the bomb blasts to push himself and Ash into the cave. The other members of the Squirtle Squad caught their leader while Misty, Aaron and Brock caught Ash.

"No more Squirtle Squad," Jessie said. "The town's gonna give us medal, and we'll be heroes."

"Not so fast!" Ash shouted.

The trainers and the Squirtle Squad found a way on top of the cliff from inside the cave.

"Who said that?" Jessie wondered.

Team Rocket turned their attention to the cliff and spotted Ash and the Squirtle Squad leader.

"Weren't they…?" Jessie wondered.

"Didn't they…?" James wondered.

"How did they…?" Meowth wondered.

"Squirtle, Water Gun attack now!" Ash told the Tiny Turtle Pokémon.

Squirtle just nodded and fired its Water Gun at Team Rocket's balloon, bursting a hole in it. James lost his grip on Pikachu and it fell out of the balloon.

"Come back here!" James yelled.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he ran down the cliff and jumped to catch the yellow rodent.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth yelled as they disappeared in the sky.

However, the damage Team Rocket did was worse than originally thought. Some of the bombs landed in the forest and started a fire.

"A fire! The blast must have set it off," Brock said.

"If it keeps burning, the whole town could go up in smoke," Officer Jenny said as she arrived.

"Don't worry, Jenny, I've got an idea," Ash said, then turned his attention to the Squirtle Squad. "Listen, if you Squirtles work together, you can combine your Water Guns to put out the fire."

All five Squirtle nodded and went right to work. They ran into the forest and used their Water-type attacks on the flames, putting them out in a rather short amount of time. Once the fire was out, everyone went back to the police station where the Squirtle Squad was rewarded.

"And so, we gratefully award this certificate to the Squirtle Squad. Thank you for saving our town from the fire," Officer Jenny said as she handed the Squirtle Squad their certificate. "Because of your skill and bravery, we proudly appoint you the town firefighters."

Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock were soon back on the path towards Route 24, which would lead them to Vermilion City.

"Hey, Ash, that Squirtle is following us," Misty said as she looked behind the group.

"Squirtle. Squirtle!" Squirtle called out as it ran up to the four trainers.

The four trainers turned around to face the Squirtle Squad leader.

"Would you like to come along with us, Squirtle?" Ash asked the Pokémon.

"Squirtle," Squirtle said as it took off its shades and stared happily at Ash.

Ash then kneeled down as Squirtle ran to him and jumped for a hug from the trainer.

"Welcome to the team, Squirtle," Ash said to his newest friend. "Guess I've caught a new Pokémon."

"Caught? What do you mean caught?!" Misty said.

"Oh, what's the difference? It's on our side now," Ash said.

"It might be best to just let him believe what he wants to believe," Aaron chuckled.

* * *

**Misty: Whoa. I didn't think Aaron would go THAT far to help me. I mean, sure I wouldn't want my hair dyed purple, but to protect me from that AND give a threat?**

**Aaron: Uh...**

**Me: Just goes to show how much you mean to him. Cause apparently only myself, Brock, and my readers know what's going on with Aaron.**

**Misty: And why wouldn't I know?**

**Me: Because he's hiding it from you. But also from himself.**

**Misty: Why would he hide something from me? We're best friends, right?**

**Aaron: AzureKite4, I have no idea what the heck you're talking about.**

**Ash: And why would I know what's going on?**

**Me: *sigh* Ash, we've been over this. You're too young and too stupid to understand this early on. You're only 10 years old, so you wouldn't be able to grasp the concept of love.**

**Aaron&Misty: LOVE?!**

**Me: Ah... crap.**

**Misty: That's disgusting!**

**Aaron: Yeah! She's my best friend! It would be really freaking weird if I fell in love with her!**

**Me: Suit yourselves. You'll both be admitting it later anyway.**

**Aaron&Misty: NO WAY!**

***Aaron and Misty start to ignore me***

**Me: *sigh* Damn this job sucks. Not only do I have to write, but I have to keep the characters from arguing with themselves and with me.**

**Brock: Don't worry. Let them deny it if they want. But just tell me this: Will I be there when they admit it?**

**Me: For the first one? No. It'll be in the second season while you'll be with you-know-who. Tracey will be with the two of them.**

**Brock: Alright. And thanks for not saying _her_ name.**

**Ash: Who's name? You mean Professor Ivy?**

**Me: ASH, YOU IDIOT!**

***Brock is curled up into a ball***

**Brock: That... name...**

**Me: Great. Now we need to wait for Brock to return to normal. Hopefully that'll be by the next chapter.**

**Ash: Uh... I guess this means I have to give the disclaimer, right?**

**Me: Wait, I thought you hated me.**

**Ash: I get over things quickly.**

**Me: Alright. Then go ahead, Ash. You're the only one capable.**

**Ash: Right. Please R&R, everyone.**

**Me: Oh, but one more thing. As for the next chapter, I think I might skip "Mystery At The Lighthouse".**

**Ash: You mean the episode where I catch Krabby? Why?**

**Me: Because in the episode, the narrator of the show talks to you guys and I'm not sure if it would be proper to do something like that in a fanfiction.**

**Ash: I _think_ I see your point.**

**Me: I know! I'll ask the readers. Alright. To all my readers, please answer this following question in your review for this chapter: Should I turn episode 13, "Mystery At The Lighthouse", into a fanfic chapter and include the narrator talking to the group or should I just skip it? And if you want me to do the chapter on the episode, should I just skip the whole "narrator talks to the characters" scene and go right to Ash catching Krabby?**


	10. Mystery At The Lighthouse

**Me: Alright. First I want to say that I have decided to do a chapter from the episode "Mystery AT The Lighthouse", as you can all see.**

**Ash: WOO-HOO! That means I get Krabby!**

**Me: That's right, Ash. And I actually have someone to thank for this.**

**Ash: Who?**

**Me: One of my readers/reviewers. Zefri012, thank you for suggesting that I take the role of the narrator.**

**Ash: What? But what point would that do?**

**Me: Well, I wanted to do this episode for a specific scene, but it was the narrator part that was stopping me from doing it. Zefri012 suggested that I be the narrator for it. So any parts that aren't in quotations that say "I say" or "I asked" are the narrator's lines from the episode, only I'm the one saying them.**

**Brock: That doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. Let's just hope your readers don't mind it.**

**Me: Yeah.**

***Notices Aaron and Misty are still ignoring me***

**Me: *sigh* Alright. Time to fix this. Misty. Aaron. I apologize for saying that love thing in the previous chapter.**

***both Cerulean trainers just look at me and don't say anything***

**Me: I will no longer say anything about the two of you being more than just friends. However, the readers will still be allowed to voice their opinions. I can't cut off their right of free speech.**

***Aaron and Misty look at each other and just nod***

**Aaron: Alright.**

**Misty: But if you mention ANYTHING, then we're out of here and that means no more fanfiction for you. Got it, AzureKite4?**

**Me: I, AzureKite4, swear on my life as a fanfiction writer, to refrain from saying outside of the story that you two are more than best friends. If I ever do so in a chapter again, I will immediately cancel my account.**

**Brock: Hold on there, I don't think you have to go _that_ far.**

**Misty&Aaron: Promise accepted, AzureKite4.**

**Ash&Brock: WHAT?! But if you do that, we won't be in anymore!**

**Me: I know. And it also means that I have to give up on rewriting my first fanfic and its sequel. But that's the price I'm willing to pay. HOWEVER...**

**Misty&Aaron: Uh-oh.**

**Me: Whatever happens within the chapters will not be of my fault. So whatever appears in the chapters, you two must promise me not to start flipping out and attacking me. Alright?**

**Misty&Aaron: *sigh* Fine.**

**Me: Good. Alright Ash, you can give the disclaimer since you catch Krabby.**

**Ash: Ok. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 10: Episode 13: Mystery At The Lighthouse-

"The road's gotta be somewhere," Ash said.

"Everything's somewhere," Brock said.

"Ash, have you gotten us lost again?" Misty asked.

"Knowing him, it's more than likely he has," Aaron answered.

"Well, here's a familiar scene," I said. "Wander in a forest, it appears our friends have once again lost their way. It's been quite a while since Ash left home in the town of Pallet, and a lot has happened since he began his Pokémon journey. He's already earned two of the qualifying badges for participation in the Pokémon League: A Boulder Badge and a Cascade Badge."

Ash opened his jacket to reveal his two badges.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Ash gloated.

"You didn't _earn_ those badges. You got 'em 'cause Brock and my sister felt sorry for you," Misty said.

"I did, too!" Ash shouted at the redhead.

"Chill out, guys. Either way, Ash here has two badges and six Pokémon. He needs those six Pokémon to compete in the Pokémon League," Btock stated.

"That's right, Brock. In the League, a trainer is allowed to carry six Pokémon at a time. What are their names again, Ash?" I asked.

"Their names are-- Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle. And I caught 'em all fair and square," Ash answered.

"Caught them?" Aaron repeated. "Ash, all your Pokémon followed you."

"Well, ha ha, they're all mine, and that's all that really counts for a Pokémon trainer. Ha ha ha ha," Ash laughed nervously.

"This may come as a surprise to you, but real Pokémon trainers actually catch Pokémon on their own," Misty said.

"Oh, you never give me a break," Ash started to sulk.

"That's because you keep bragging about those two badges," Misty said.

"It's really not unusual for most trainers to capture 20 or 30 Pokémon," Brock said.

"You're lucky. Your Pokémon follow you around," Misty said, and all six of Ash's Pokémon nodded in agreement.

"And don't forget, you had our help as well, Ash," Aaron added, also earning a nod from Ash's six Pokémon.

"Yeah, you shouldn't forget that, Ash," Brock said, also earning a nod from all six Pokémon.

"You're always putting me down," Ash said, now sitting on the ground as he sulked. "But I'll show you!"

Ash jumped up to his feet and held out a PokéBall.

"I'm going to prove to you that I can do it," Ash said. "I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master. Stand back and watch me work."

Ash then ran on ahead to try and find some Pokémon.

"He's so impatient," Aaron said.

"We better go after him so he doesn't end up hurting himself," Brock said.

Misty and Aaron only nodded in agreement and the three trainers ran after Ash in order to catch up with him. They eventually arrived on a beach and just in time to witness Ash catching a Krabby.

"Now I'm somewhat impressed. He was able to catch it all on his own," Aaron said.

But then the three trainers saw the PokéBall that held Ash's new Krabby disappear from his hand and, as usual, Ash started to panic.

"What happened? Where'd my new Krabby go?" Ash wondered, then started to look around himself. "Ohh! I don't see it anywhere. Where'd it go?"

"Didn't you know that a trainer can only keep six Pokémon?" Misty asked the confused trainer as herself, Aaron and Brock walked up to Ash.

"Huh?" Ash said in complete confusion.

"Trainers can only have six Pokémon, and the rest are transported," Misty said.

"Yeah, but you can switch one Pokémon for another by pressing the white button inside your Pokédex," Brock stated.

"Uh, you mean this button?" Ash asked as he opened his Pokédex and pointed to the only white button he could see.

"Right. It sends a signal to activate the system that makes the exchange," Brock answered.

"But I don't want to exchange my Pokémon," Ash said.

"Then shut your Pokédex and quit whining," Misty said.

"I wasn't whining. I just wanted to know where my Krabby went," Ash said.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Your Krabby got transported to a place for safe keeping," Misty said.

"Where was it transported to?" Ash asked.

"Your Pokémon gets transported to wherever you got your Pokédex from," Brock answered.

"Then that means Krabby must be with…" Ash started as Professor Oak entered his head. "It's with Professor Oak."

"That's right," Brock said. "Krabby just got transported automatically to Professor Oak's Pokémon Laboratory. So don't worry about it."

"So Krabby's with Professor Oak, huh?" Ash wondered, but then had a horrified look on his face indicating he saw something he didn't want to, then he started to sulk again. "Oh, now I'm doubly worried. Isn't there and way I can make sure it's ok?"

"We could call Professor Oak to check on him," Brock suggested. "But we haven't passed a phone all day, and this beach is pretty far out of the way."

"There's got to be a phone around here someplace," Ash said. "I gotta check on Krabby."

"I'm more worried about having to camp out again tonight. I'm sick of sleeping in sleeping bags," Misty said.

"I'm just worried about finding a way to out if poor little Krabby's ok," Ash said.

"Pika! Pika!" the four trainers heard and turned to look at Pikachu.

"Pika?" Ash repeated.

"Pika?" Brock repeated as well.

The four trainers looked at where Pikachu was pointing and saw a building on a cliff.

"What's that?" Ash wondered.

"It looks like a lighthouse," Aaron finally spoke up after keeping quiet during Ash's whining about Krabby.

"A lighthouse!" Ash exclaimed. "Every lighthouse has to have a keeper, and he'll have a phone, and I'm gonna use it to call Professor Oak."

"And there'll probably be some extra beds. A sleeping bad is no way for me to get my beauty sleep," Misty said.

"Yeah, and they're be somebody there to tell us where we are," Brock said.

"Let's go!" Ash said.

"All right!" Brock cheered.

"Yeah!" Misty said.

The four trainers then ran towards the lighthouse and finally reached it after the sun had set.

"Whew! That was farther than it looked," Ash said.

"This lighthouse looks weird," Brock said as he looked at the building.

The four trainers stood in front of the door and saw carved images of Pokémon.

'_Fascinating. I wonder if this really _is_ a lighthouse or if it's something else disguised as a lighthouse,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"I guess we'd better ring the bell," Misty said.

"I got it," Ash said as he walked up and pushed a small red button.

The doorbell sounded more like a bell you'd hear during an old horror movie. Ash, Misty and Brock grouped together, a chill going up and down their spines. Aaron, however, just admired it.

"Hey, that's pretty cool," Aaron said.

"What are you talking about? That's really creepy," Misty said.

"I guess you guys don't watch a lot of horror movies then, do you?" Aaron asked.

But before he could get an answer, the four trainers heard a voice.

"Who's there?" the voice asked.

The four trainers looked towards the intercom that the doorbell was attached to and the three scared trainers quietly sighed in relief.

"Uh, excuse us, sir, but we're travelers and we're lost," Brock answered.

"We've got a small emergency here, and we need to use your telephone, please, sir," Ash said.

"We've been camping out for quite a while, " Misty said as she pushed Ash over. "And I'd sure appreciate a nice, comfy bed."

"And I was wondering if I could use your kitchen to make some bacon double cheeseburgers for our group," Brock said. "And I'd be more than happy to make something for you."

"That's great, Can you cook without using tofu?" the voice from the intercom asked.

"Oh, sure. I can cook lots of things without using tofu," Brock answered.

"That's good. I've been eating nothing but tofu since my cook went on vacation. Come on in," the voice said.

The doors to the building then slowly opened up. The trainers then walked in, but it was dark inside and it didn't appear as though anyone was there.

""Would you mind if I borrow your phone?" Ash asked.

"There's a phone right near you," the voice from the intercom answered.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

The four trainers turned to their left and saw a computer screen and what appeared to be a phone in the design of a Bellsprout.

"Hey, it's a video phone. Oh, that's cool," Misty said.

"I'll call Professor Oak now and see if he has my Pokémon," Ash said as he ran towards the phone.

"I'm sure Krabby's in great shape," Brock said.

"The Professor won't mind if I call him collect," Ash said as he dialed the phone.

The call got through and an image of Professor Oak appeared on the screen as he seemed to be cooking something.

"Uhh…" was all that came out of Ash's mouth since he was afraid Professor Oak was cooking his Krabby.

"Well, hi, Ash. You caught me cooking dinner," Professor Oak said. "My cook is on vacation, and I've got to fend for myself till she returns."

'_Do Professor Oak and this lighthouse keeper share the same cook or something?_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Wait a minute, Professor, you're not eating my Krabby, are you?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry. I'm taking good care of your Krabby. It's right here," Professor Oak said as he moved to the side so the trainers could see Krabby.

Krabby was inside of a glass jar with a sticker than had Ash's face on it.

"Anyway, that Krabby of yours is too small to make a veary hearty meal. On the other hand, the Krabby that Gary caught would make an excellent dinner, much better than tofu," Professor Oak said.

"What? You mean Gary caught a Krabby, too?" Ash asked.

"Yes. It's quite a catch," Professor Oak said. "Take a look for yourself."

Professor Oak then turned the camera to the left showing a large jar with a giant Krabby in it. On the jar was a stick with Gary's face on it.

"Ohh!" Ash said in annoyance.

"Whoa. That thing's huge," was all Aaron could say.

"Awesome," Brock said.

"I want you to know that my grandson Gary has already caught 45 Pokémon," Professor Oak said.

"45 Pokémon?!" Ash repeated before starting to sulk again.

"By the way, Ash, just where are you calling me from anyway?" Professor Oak asked.

"We're at an old lighthouse way up on top of a cliff," Ash answered.

"Oh, that must be Bill's lighthouse," Professor Oak said. "He's a young Pokémon researcher who knows even more than me. See what you can learn from him. He could teach you just about everything about Pokémon, and then some."

"This is Bill, Professor Oak," said the voice from the intercom. "Good to hear from you."

"Hello, Bill. Please give my friends a crash course in Pokémon," Professor Oak requested. "Uh-oh! Tofu's done."

The screen on the computer screen then faded.

"Well, there's no way I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak," Bill said.

The lights in the building then came on.

"I am Bill, of the lighthouse," Bill introduced himself.

The four trainers turned in the direction of the voice and saw a large Kabuto.

"It can't be. That's a Kabuto, an extinct Pokémon," Brock said. "I wonder what it's doing here."

"It can't be extinct if there's one standing in front of us," Aaron said.

"No, I'm not a Kabuto," said the Pokémon. "I'm Bill, the Pokémon researcher."

"Wait, are you a human being or a Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"This is a costume. I'm stuck inside it," Bill answered.

"Do you need help getting out?" Ash asked.

"Yes. Step up here," Bill said.

"Tell me what to do," Ash said as he walked up the steps.

"Push that button," Bill said, moving the short arms of the costume to point at a small button.

"This one here?" Ash asked as he pointed at the button, wanting to make sure it was the right one.

"Yes. These arms are too short," Bill said. "I tried to get out, but I couldn't reach the button."

Ash pushed the button then stood up and backed away. A white light surrounded the Kabuto costume and then disappeared as the arms slide off and the front half was pushed forward. A young man with green hair and wearing some sort of fancy suit stepped out of the costume.

"Thanks for helping me get out. I've been stuck in that costume for hours," Bill said.

"Did you come from a costume party?" Misty asked.

"No, it's not for a party," Bill answered. "This is a special costume that I use in my research. Getting inside its skin helps me get inside its head."

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked.

"There are many kinds of extinct Pokémon," Bill said as he and the four trainers turned to see carvings of Omastar, Omanyte, Aerodatcyl, Kabuto and Kabutops. "And I want to understand how they lived. Putting on a costume is just one way of trying to figure out what they were like."

"You can understand what a Pokémon was like from wearing a costume?" Ash asked.

"Yes, indeed, or I'm beginning to," Bill answered. "This planet was created 4.6 Billion years ago. During that time, all kinds of Pokémon existed. They had many ways of living."

Bill walked ahead and sat down on one of the steps of the small stairway.

The room started to go dark and it seemed to be projecting some sort of hologram.

"All kinds of Pokémon? How many?" Ash asked.

"On this planet, there are more than 150 known species of Pokémon," Bill answered.

"Over 150?" Ash repeated.

"You're lucky to be Pokémon trainers. Your goal is to catch all of these different kinds of Pokémon. That's a great task," Bill said.

"Yeah, but so far, I've only gotten 7," Ash said.

On the holographic screen, the images of Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Krabby were highlighted by a large red dot that filled their space.

"There sure are a lot of--" Ash started, but Bill cut him off.

""Of course, these are just the Pokémon we know about," Bill said as he stood up. "There are still many Pokémon that have never been discovered. So we need to keep searching."

"How many could there be?" Ash wondered.

"No one knows exactly. The search goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives and in ourselves," Bill answered.

"Something to look for?" Ash repeated.

"Yes, there's a lot for us to look for, inside and outside ourselves," Bill answered as he started to walk down the steps. "There's meaning for every creature, a meaning for all the Pokémon, and a meaning for us humans, too."

"A meaning for all," Ash repeated as he looked back at the hologram.

Once Bill had turned off the hologram, the four trainers walked down the steps to listen for anything else the researcher had to say.

"Keep looking for new Pokémon to catch. It's something that's very important for Pokémon research. It's as vital to me as it is to you," Bill said as he turned around to face the trainers. "Right now, though, there's only one Pokémon I'm searching for."

"What kind of Pokémon?" Ash asked.

Rather than go into a full explanation, Bill led the four trainers up to the top of the lighthouse.

"It's probably the biggest Pokémon ever, bigger than all of the rest. And no one has ever seen it," Bill said. "It's been wandering the world for years and years, looking for friends."

"But doesn't that Pokémon have any friends or family?" Misty asked.

"The Pokémon wanders because it's alone. It's the only Pokémon of its species, one of a kind," Bill answered. "One night, I heard this very strange sound coming across the ocean."

Bill reached into his pocket and pulled out a recorder. He pressed the switch and a Pokémon's cry started to play.

"I want… I want to meet you. That's what it said to me," Bill translated. "Some time ago, I recorded a similar sound and played it from the lighthouse towards the ocean. Lets be friends. I want to meet you. One day, I heard the same voice calling back to me from over the ocean. "I want to meet you, too. I want to be friends". It was answering me back. Some foggy night, that Pokémon might come here to meet a friend it's been seeking for a very long time. I would be so happy to meet that Pokémon."

"But will you try to capture the Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Why do I need to capture it? Meeting it would be enough for me," Bill answered. "Just a chance to study it would make my long wait worthwhile."

But then Bill stopped when he heard something over in the distance. It was the Pokémon's cry that had been on the recorder, but it sounded different than what Bill had played back.

"Hmm? Ohh," Bill said in awe as he and the four trainers looked across the ocean.

The five of them saw a giant figure walking through the water and head slowly towards the lighthouse.

"It's here! The signal!" Bill said as he pressed another button on the remote he had pull out of his pocket.

The lights from the lighthouse started to change colors like the colors of a rainbow. The Pokémon responded with its cry and continued its way slowly to the lighthouse.

"It sounds like it's singing," Misty said.

"Then how about a dance, m'lady?" Aaron asked the redhead while trying to be a gentleman.

"Huh? Oh, thanks, Aaron," Misty said as a slight blush appeared on her face as she still remembered the close contact they had from the incident at A.J.'s gym.

In Aaron's head, he thought he was only playing along and dancing with his friend, so he wasn't too bothered by it. Though Misty wondered why he had asked. Aaron held out his hand and Misty took it. The two started to dance while the Pokémon sang in its cry. Bill, Ash and Brock just watched the Pokémon in awe. But then something struck the giant Pokémon and it roared in pain, causing Aaron and Misty to immediately stop their dancing and look over at the Pokémon. The Pokémon began to move closer and this gave Aaron a very bad feeling.

"Everyone, let's get out of here!" Aaron called out to his friends.

The giant Pokémon swung its arm and tore off the light from the lighthouse. Everyone quickly made their way down the stairs and ran outside of the building.

"Please don't go, Pokémon. Please stay with us," Bill pleaded. "I've waited so long for a chance to see you here."

The giant Pokémon just slowly shook its head.

"Pokémon, wait!" Bill called out.

The giant Pokémon then swung its tail and took off a chunk of the cliff.

"Pokémon!" Bill called out.

The giant Pokémon had turned around and began walking away from the cliff and back into the ocean. Bill and the four trainers just watched as the Pokémon disappeared from view. The sun rose some hours later and the five humans were standing outside of the building.

"What kind of Pokémon was that anyway?" Ash asked.

"Who knows? Pokémon live in more ways and places than humans may ever learn," Bill answered.

"I think looking for and catching Pokémon should help bring all of us together," Ash said.

"Wow, Ash. I didn't think you could be so insightful," Aaron said sarcastically, earning a quiet laugh from Misty and Brock.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked.

"Nevermind. It's nothing," Aaron said.

"Learning to raise Pokémon is another way of understanding how to live with them," Brock said.

"And Pokémon are always lots of fun to play with," Misty added.

"Meanwhile, I'll stand watch for the giant Pokémon to appear at my lighthouse again," Bill said.

"Bill, do you think we'll ever find all the Pokémon there are?" Ash asked.

"No, Ash, there are probably as many as we can imagine, maybe many, many more. Maybe there's no limit to the Pokémon we can actually find on this planet," Bill said as he turned around to face the four trainers. "Ash, you're a Pokémon trainer, I'm a Pokémon researcher, seeking out all kinds of like on this planet. Even if our paths are different, I think our goals are the same."

"Mm-hmm," Ash said in agreement.

After bidding farewell to Bill, the four trainers continued their journey towards Vermilion City.

* * *

**Me: There we go. Another chapter done. Unfortunately it's short, but I couldn't really fix that.**

**Brock: So you only wanted to do this chapter to have Misty and Aaron do the dancing scene?**

**Me: That's right.**

***Aaron and Misty glare at me***

**Me: What? I'm not going to say anything. Aaron asked her to dance to be nice since Misty thought the Pokémon was singing.**

**Aaron: That's true.**

**Misty: Thank you very much for the dance, Aaron.**

**Aaron: No problem.**

**Me: And I think everyone knows what the next chapter is.**

**Ash: Yeah! Gym battle!**

**Me: Right. But I may have to upload that tomorrow. Anyway... Misty, would you give out the closer?**

**Misty: Sure. Please R&R, everyone.**


	11. Electric Shock Showdown

**Me: Here we go. Chapter 11.**

**Ash: So much for "uploading multiple chapters in a day".**

**Me: Just call me lazy. After I uploaded that Squirtle Squad episode, I didn't have any others uploaded. I only wrote the Lighthouse one yesterday and uploaded it right after and I just finished this chapter today. And besides, you shouldn't be getting mad at me for this, Ash. This is your gym battle.**

**Brock: He's right, Ash. You should be more grateful.**

**Ash: Alright. I'm sorry.**

**Misty: But that battle against Surge in the episode was tough. He beat Pikachu so quickly.**

**Me: Well, unfortunately nothing changes much in this chapter from the episode.**

**Aaron: Then why am I here?**

**Me: Because someone needs to train Pikachu.**

**Ash: Wait, Aaron's going to train my Pikachu?**

**Me: Yeah. After all, the episode never says how Pikachu got its training before your second match against Surge. With Aaron here, we get some explanaition.**

**Ash: I guess.**

**Me: So Ash, since this is your battle, you give the disclaimer.**

**Ash: Ok. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 11: Episode 14: Electric Shock Showdown-

Ash was holding the map and started to shake a bit once they figured out where they were.

"Ahh!" Ash sighed in relief with a happy look on his face.

It had been another two weeks of getting themselves lost since the incident at Bill's lighthouse, but the four trainers had finally reached their destination of Vermilion City.

"Ahh!" Misty sighed in relief with a happy look on her face as well, as did Aaron and Brock.

The four trainers then dropped their bags, which they were holding in their hands, and started to cheer.

"Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!" the four trainers cheered as they threw their arms in the air.

"I can't wait to take a bubble bath," Misty said.

"I have to hit the Laundromat," Brock said.

"I'm in need of a shower," Aaron said.

"I'm going to find the Vermilion City Gym…" Ash started as he began to run into the city. "Right now!"

"Hold it!" Aaron called out as both he and Brock reached out and grabbed the collar of Ash's jacket.

"Huh?" Ash said, wondering why they stopped him. "What's the matter?"

Both Aaron and Brock pointed down at the ground, thus turning Ash's attention to Pikachu. The small yellow mouse was sprawled on the ground from exhaustion and hunger.

"Pikachu!" Ash said as he picked up his Pokémon.

"It must be hungry," Misty said.

"I think we all are," Aaron said.

"We haven't eaten anything decent for three days now," Brock said.

"Hey, Pikachu… You feeling hungry, little buddy?" Ash asked his Pokémon.

But then Ash's stomach growled so loudly that the other three trainers heard it.

"Ooh…" was all Ash could say while Misty, Aaron and Brock just sweatdropped and Ash just laughed nervously.

"I guess we're all a little hungry, eh, Pikachu?" Ash asked the Mouse Pokémon.

The four trainers then entered the city and made a b-line straight for the Pokémon Center. Ash got a tray to set Pikachu and his PokéBalls on and handed then to Nurse Joy.

"I think it's hungry," Ash said.

"We'll fix Pikachu up," Nurse Joy said as she took Pikachu off the tray.

Ash and Brock just stared at Nurse Joy with a clueless look on their face while Aaron and Misty mentally slapped themselves in the head.

"I know why you're surprised. I look like all the other nurses, don't I? My first cousin works in Pewter City and my second cousin works in Viridian City," Nurse Joy said. "I think I'm the prettiest one, don't you?"

"Yeah," Brock answered.

"Hurry!" the four trainers heard someone say.

They turned around to see the doors slide open with a young boy and a Pokémon Center Chansey pushing a stretcher into the building. A badly injured and unconscious Rattata laid on the stretcher as it was rushed to one of the hospital rooms.

"You'll be ok, Rattata. Hurry!" the boy said to his Pokémon.

"That Rattata's in rough shape," Brock said.

"That's putting it mildly," Aaron added.

"I wonder what happened?" Brock asked.

"Oh, that's the 15th one brought in this month," Nurse Joy said as she stood up.

"What?" Ash asked.

Nurse Joy took all four trainers to the room where the Rattata was rushed to and they noticed a lot more Pokémon were in there wrapped up in bandages and asleep in beds.

"This is terrible!" Brock said.

"They all lost to Lt. Surge, the Vermilion Gym Leader," Nurse Joy said.

"Whoa! He must be a great trainer," Ash said.

"So, Ash, you scared already?" Misty asked.

"No way!" Ash answered.

"Well, you talk big, but when you see how tough it is to get badges, you turn chicken," Misty said. "Maybe you should just quit now. Besides, the badges you do have, you got out of pity."

"A badge is a badge!" Ash shouted at the redhead.

Misty then just reach forward and flicked Ash's nose.

"Why don't you try to prove how tough you are at the Vermilion Gym," Misty said.

"From the look of things here, you'll have to be tough to battle with this Lt. Surge," Brock said as he looked at all the injured Pokémon.

"You think he's that tough?" Ash asked.

"We gave you badges, you know," Misty said. "How do you think we'll look if you get crushed by Surge?"

"You have nothing to worry about, except maybe seeing my own incredible strength!" Ash said.

"Strength and overconfidence are two different things, Ash. You should learn to figure out which is which," Aaron said.

But the next thing Aaron knew, he felt pain in his face and fell backwards. Ash stood there with his fist stuck out.

"Ash! What was that for?" Misty yelled at her hat-wearing friend.

"Hey, he's the one who started it," Ash answered.

Misty ignored Ash and kneeled at Aaron's side and tried to help him up.

"Aaron, are you ok?" Misty said as she leaned the brown-haired boy up.

"Ow. My face," Aaron finally said.

"All right, that's enough!" Nurse Joy cut in. "Remember, this is a hospital."

"So the next time you want to pull something like that Ash, we'll take it outside," Aaron said as he rubbed his face. "Ouch. That hurt though."

"Are you going to be ok?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. It's nothing major," Aaron said.

Misty just let out a sigh of relief that her best friend wasn't too badly hurt from Ash's punch, though wondered why he did that. Ash had never gotten physically aggressive from an insult before. So why now and why against Aaron?

"Is he going to be ok?" Nurse Joy asked.

"He said he will be," Misty said.

"I'll be fine. Misty, we've been friends for 6 years. I think you can trust me on this," Aaron said, earning a nod from Misty.

"You two seem really close," Nurse Joy said.

"We are. We've known each other for the past 6 years," Misty answered.

"And by the looks of things, I'd say you two really care about each other," Nurse Joy said.

Aaron and Misty, however, took this the wrong way and both slightly blushed as the incident at A.J.'s gym was stuck in their head.

"What are you talking about? We're just really close friends, nothing more," Aaron and Misty said, surprisingly at the same time, earning a giggle from Nurse Joy.

But before anything else could be said, a chiming sound could be heard.

"That signal means your Pokémon has recovered," Nurse Joy said as she turned to Ash.

Nurse Joy, Ash and Brock left the room to check on Pikachu while Misty and Aaron slowly got up and walked out of the room together since Aaron was stumbling a bit, an after-effect from Ash's punch in his face.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Misty asked.

"I told you, Misty. I'm going to be fine. But my nose stings a lot," Aaron said.

The brown-haired boy slowly moved his hand off his face and what Misty saw caused her to gasp.

"Hm? What is it?" Aaron asked.

"You're nose. It's bleeding," Misty said.

"Bleeding? Well, taking a punch to the face _would_ cause a nosebleed," Aaron said.

"Not there," Misty said, earning a confused look on the boy's face, to which Misty touched just under the bridge of Aaron's nose. "There."

Aaron moved his hand up to where Misty pointed and felt his hand touch blood.

"Just great," Aaron said with a sigh.

"Do you need a bandage?" Misty asked.

"No, it's ok. I'll just go clean it up. You go on ahead and catch up with Ash and Brock," Aaron said.

"If you're sure," Misty said, worried that Ash might have broken Aaron's nose or something.

"Misty, trust me. I'm fine," Aaron said.

Aaron just looked at Misty and she looked at him until she nodded and walked after Ash and Brock. Aaron then found the nearest restroom and used the sink to wash out the blood. He then looked at his reflection in the mirror and let out an irritated sigh.

"That's going to leave a scar," Aaron said to himself. "But I'm surprised Ash was able to cause this when he's only 10. Oh well. Guess he just got a lucky hit."

Aaron then walked out of the bathroom and went to meet up with the others.

"Hey, Aaron. Sorry about earli-- Whoa! What the heck happened to you?" Ash said as he looked at Aaron's nose.

"You did, kid," Aaron said.

"Now apologize, Ash. You didn't have to punch him," Misty said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think I hit you that hard," Ash said, earning a hit in the head from Misty.

"That's not the kind of apology you should say!" Misty yelled at the hat-wearing boy.

"It's ok, Misty. It's nothing big. So anyway, are we going to be heading for the gym for Ash's match or what?" Aaron asked.

After the other trainers looked at Aaron, somewhat confused by his casual attitude, they just nodded in agreement. The four of them reached the Vermilion Gym and just looked up at it. Aaron just let out a whistle.

"That's a big gym," Aaron said.

"So this is the Vermilion City Gym," Ash said.

"It's not too late to back out," Misty said.

"Why should I back out when I'm gonna win?" Ash asked.

'_Gone right back to overconfidence,_' Aaron thought to himself as he sighed.

"Just stick around and watch me," Ash said.

"I'll stick around to see your face when you get creamed," Misty said.

"If you think we're gonna get creamed, you're gonna be disappointed," Ash started to argue.

"Are we ever gonna go inside?" Brock asked.

The four trainers then walked up to the doors as they slowly opened. The inside of the building was rather dark, but they could still see inside.

"Hello. I've come for a Pokémon battle, to earn a Thunder Badge," Ash said.

"Hey, Boss, another victim for the Emergency Room," one of the two people already inside said as he turned around to look behind himself.

From the back of the room, a rather large man stood up and walked towards the four trainers.

"Which one?" the giant of a man asked.

"Uh-- uh…" was all Ash could get out his mouth from seeing the size of Lt. Surge.

"Whoa! He's huge," Brock said.

"Is he the Gym Leader you have to beat?" Misty asked.

"If he isn't, then I would hate to see who the Gym Leader really is," Aaron said.

"Welcome to…" Surge started, but then seemed to go and hug Misty. "Vermilion Gym."

This action caused Misty to nearly jump in surprise and, for some reason, Aaron's eye was twitching.

"Oh, my next challenger is a cute one," Surge said as he looked at Misty. "Don't think I'll go easy on you."

'_That just sounded very, very wrong. He's, what, in his late-30's or something?_' Aaron thought to himself as a disgusted look appeared on his face.

"Um, excuse me, I'm not the challenger," Misty said.

"Then who?" Surge asked.

"Me, that's who," Ash shouted.

"Hmm?" Surge wondered as he turned to face Ash before standing up. "Oh, you? Ok, baby."

Lt. Surge just put his hand on Ash's head and tried to mess up the boy's hair under his hat.

"Unh! I'm no baby!" Ash said as he somehow managed to push Surge's arm away. "My name's Ash Ketchum."

"Hmph! I call everybody who loses to me "baby". Huh?" Surge said as he looked down by Ash's foot and saw Pikachu cower behind its trainer's leg. "Ha! A Pikachu! Hey, look at this. Baby brought along a baby Pokémon."

Surge and the two people standing behind him just laughed at Ash and Pikachu.

"Quit it! Why are you making fun of my Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it moved from behind Ash's leg.

"Oh, I'll show you why," Surge said as he grabbed a PokéBall and threw it. "Go, PokéBall!"

The ball opened up upon hitting the floor and what appeared to be a larger, and fatter, version of Pikachu materialized.

"Rai!" the Pokémon said.

"It's a Raichu!" Ash said.

Ash then pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Raichu.

"Raichu. A Mouse Pokémon of the electric element: Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious," the red machine said.

"Whoa. If it can do that, it's no wonder those other Pokémon were rushed to the Pokémon Center," Aaron said, having overheard the Pokédex.

However, Pikachu didn't back down. Instead, it seemed eager to battle.

"Ok, baby, if you want to quit, now's your chance!" Lt. Surge said.

"Raichu!" Raichu said, striking the same pose as its trainer.

"There's no way we're gonna quit now!" Ash shouted.

"Ha! What could a baby like that do?" Surge asked as he pointed at Pikachu, then kneeled down to pet his Raichu. "If youse want to become a Pokémon master, you should make your Pokémon evolve as soon as you catch it."

'_So Surge evolved his Pikachu into that Raichu as soon as he got it. It's going to be very powerful then, having all that time to get used to its body and building up more energy,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"There's more to raising a Pokémon than forcing it to evolve!" Ash said as he kneeled behind his Pikachu to pet it. "And I like this Pikachu just the way it is."

Surge and the two people behind him just laughed.

"Wrong, baby," Surge said as he stood up. "Electric Pokémon are only useful once they've learned all their different Electric attacks. You keep it puny like that, it's no more than a little pet."

"Can Pikachu beat Raichu?" Misty asked Aaron and Brock.

"I seriously doubt it. Especially if Raichu knows all the Electric attacks," Brock answered.

"I agree with Brock. And if what Surge said before is true, about evolving his Pikachu as soon as he got it, then Raichu would be more powerful after all those years of getting used to its bigger body and all that extra electric energy," Aaron said.

"Ok, baby. Did ums just come here to show us your little pet?" Surge said in a baby voice to taunt Ash.

"We came here to earn a Thunder Badge!" Ash answered.

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"Pikachu?" Ash said, wondering what had gotten into his Pokémon.

"Pikachu!" the small yellow mouse said as sparks of electricity shot out its red cheeks.

"That's unusual," Brock said. "Pikachu really wants to go into battle."

"I'm not surprised," Misty said.

"Me neither. I think Pikachu wants to prove it doesn't have to evolve to be stronger," Aaron said.

"Pikachu! I'm… counting on you," Ash said.

"Oh, well!" Surge said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you'll learn that playing with the big boys can be a shocking experience."

Surge then led the four trainers to the battle area. Aaron, Misty and Brock just stood back while Ash and Surge took their places.

"Pokémon battle will now begin," said a voice over the speakers. "Only one Pokémon may be used. The Gym Leader Lt. Surge has chosen Raichu. The challenger Ash has chosen Pikachu. No time limit. Let the battle begin."

"Go, Raichu!" Surge yelled out.

"Go, Pikachu!" Ash said.

Both Electric-types ran out onto the field.

"Pikachu, Thundershock," Ash said.

Pikachu released the electric attack at its opponent, but Raichu just charged through it like it was nothing.

"What's that?" Ash wondered in surprise.

"Raichu! Show them a real Thundershick," Surge ordered.

Raichu did as it was told and released its own electric attack. The blast hit Pikachu and sent it flying and then falling to the ground.

"It's over, baby," Surge said. "You didn't really think that Pikachu could beat my Raichu, did you?"

"Pikachu!" Ash called out to his Pokémon.

"Call it back, Ash," Brock suggested.

"But--"

"Raichu's shocks are too powerful. This is a mismatch," Brock said, cutting off the hat-wearing trainer.

"He's right, Ash. If Raichu could know out Pikachu with one attack, then it'll die if you leave it out there," Aaron said.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash called to his Pokémon.

Pikachu just stood back up and shook its head.

"Pikachu?" Ash wondered.

"Pikachu still wants to fight?" Misty wondered.

"I think it'll fight for as long as it takes until it can prove itself. Pikachu sure has guts, but that won't win this fight," Aaron said.

Pikachu then turned around to face Raichu.

"Its pretty gutsy for a toy," Surge said with a laugh.

Pikachu just charged forward to attack Raichu.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"I enjoy playing with toys, but playtime's over. Raichu! Megapunch!" Surge commanded his Pokémon.

Raichu did as told and hit Pikachu with a powerful punch to the face.

"Now a Megakick!" Surge said.

Raichu then kicked Pikachu in the face with the powerful attack.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Pikachu hit the floor and was nearly sent into the wall.

"Now give us the big finale, Raichu," Surge said.

Raichu built up power and released what appeared to be a Thunderbolt attack. The blast hit Pikachu full-force, electrocuting the little mouse.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

After the battle, Pikachu was rushed to the Pokémon Center. Ash sat by the bed Pikachu was in while Misty, Aaron and Brock stood beside Ash. It too a while, but Pikachu was able to regain consciousness and woke up.

"Pikachu! I'm glad you're ok," Ash said.

Pikachu just turned to its side, not looking at Ash or the other three trainers.

"Pikachu got hurt pretty badly," Brock said.

"I can see that," Ash said.

"That's not what he means, Ash. He meant Pikachu's spirit. Its pride," Aaron said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked as he looked at Pikachu.

"Pikachu was totally overpowered by that Raichu," Brock answered.

"Brock's right, Ash," Misty said.

"We'll try harder!" Ash stated as he stood up. "We'll win next time if Pikachu tries harder."

"I think Pikachu was trying its best the last time," Misty said.

"Misty's right. Pikachu gave it everything it had, but Raichu was just too strong," Aaron said.

"There may be a way you might win," Nurse Joy said as she walked into the room.

"Huh?" all four trainers wondered as they turned to face the nurse.

"I'm sorry. I overheard your conversation, and I just thought that--" Nurse Joy started, but was cut off.

"How can we win?" Ash asked.

"A while ago, I just happened to come across this," Nurse Joy said as she opened a box in her hands to reveal a light-bluish-green stone with a thunderbolt inside.

"Wow! It's a Thunder Stone!" Brock said.

"A Thunder Stone?" Ash repeated.

"I know of those. It can make certain Pokémon evolve. One such example would be evolving Pikachu into a Raichu," Aaron answered.

"I could evolve Pikachu into a Raichu?" Ash said as he grabbed the stone. "Then Pikachu might be strong enough to win."

"You've got to think hard before using the Thunder Stone," Nurse Joy said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"If you make Pikachu evolve, Ash, you can't change it back," Misty said.

"Pikachu will never be the same," Brock said.

"If Pikachu become a Raichu, it might be able to win that badge. On the other hand, to make it evolve just to fight, I would be just like Surge," Ash said, the turned to face his Pokémon. "Pikachu, what do you want to do?"

Ash walked up to Pikachu and held out the Thunder Stone.

"I really want to beat that Surge. But I also don't want to force you to evolve if you'd be happier staying the way you are now," Ash said.

Pikachu just sat in the bed and looked at the stone. After a few seconds of staring at the rock, Pikachu stood up.

"Pikachu!" Ash said, worried Pikachu would collapse.

"Save your strength," Misty said.

Pikachu just stared at the Thunder Stone, but then smacked it out of Ash's hand with its tail.

"Pikachu," Ash said in surprise.

Pikachu then started to go into rant in its Pikachu-speech. Ash then grabbed Pikachu's paw.

"Pikachu, together you and I will beat Lt. Surge and his Raichu!" Ash said, earning a nod from Pikachu.

"You're both crazy!" Misty yelled at the two of them.

"You should change your strategy, Ash," Brock suggested. "Maybe use your other Pokémon."

"It's hard, but it's not impossible," Ash said. "Pikachu and I will find a way to win."

Pikachu then started to go into another rant.

"All right. Are we all charged up?" Ash asked.

"Pii!" Pikachu said, acting like it was at full strength, but then passed out a few seconds later.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"It hasn't fully recovered its stamina. You should let it rest a little while longer," Nurse Joy said.

"Hmm. Pikachu…" Ash said as he looked at his sleeping Pokémon.

The four trainers went out into the lobby and Aaron went over to the vending machines and got two sodas. One for Misty and one for himself.

"Here you go," Aaron offered.

"Thank you," Misty said as she took one of the sodas. "Oh, this whole thing has me so nervous."

"Really? Since when did you decide to worry about me?" Ash started to argue.

"Not you. I'm concerned about Pikachu," Misty answered. "I hope it'll be ok."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Just a little rest is all it needs," Aaron said.

"Hey, Ash?" Brock said.

"Yeah?" Ash asked, turning his attention to the oldest trainer of the group.

"During the fight, said that he made his Raichu evolve as soon as he got it, didn't he?" Brock asked.

"Yeah," Ash answered.

"Then perhaps there is a way," Brock said, then turned his attention to Aaron. "But I'll need your help for this."

"Huh? My help?" Aaron asked, wondering if he heard correctly.

"Right. We're going to train Pikachu," Brock said.

Aaron just looked at Brock in a confused manner, but then realized what Brock meant.

"You mean speed training?" Aaron asked.

"That's right," Brock answered.

"Huh? Speed training?" Ash asked.

"Of course. That's an excellent idea, Brock. If we can train Pikachu to use its speed attacks, Raichu won't know what hit it," Aaron said. "But why do you need my help?"

"Your Fearow," Brock answered.

"Huh? Fearow?" Aaron repeated.

"Flying-type Pokémon are naturally faster than any other Pokémon. So we can use your Fearow to help train Pikachu," Brock answered.

A grin then slowly appeared on Aaron's face.

"Alright. But I'm not gonna go easy," Aaron said.

Ash just sat there, completely confused. Once Pikachu was fully recovered, Brock led them all outside of the Pokémon Center to a secluded spot to train.

"Alright. Ash, we're going to have Pikachu learn how to use its speed attacks," Brock said.

"Speed attacks?" Ash repeated.

"That's right. Surge said he evolved his Pikachu into a Raichu as soon as he got it. That means that Raichu was able to learn all its most powerful attacks, but it wasn't able to learn any speed attacks because of that bulky body and all that power," Aaron answered.

"Oh, I get it. If you can't win with strength, beat them with speed," Misty said.

"Right. If we can make Pikachu faster, Raichu won't be able to hit it. And if we use a hit-and-run tactic, then there's a chance you can win, Ash," Aaron said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Are you ready Pikachu?" Ash asked his Pokémon.

Pikachu just ran forward while Aaron grabbed a PokéBall.

"Let's go, Fearow!" Aaron called out as he threw the ball.

The ball opened and the Beak Pokémon emerged from its confines.

"Alright, Fearow. We need your help to train Pikachu for speed. Are you ready for it?" Aaron asked.

Fearow just screeched in agreement.

"Right. Now then, use Agility!" Aaron shouted.

A few hours passed until the training was complete. Pikachu and Fearow were taken back to the Pokémon Center to be treated for exhaustion. Afterwards, the four trainers walked out of the Pokémon Center to head for the Vermilion Gym, now that they had their trump card.

"Pikachu, our lucky star is shining today," Ash said as he pointed into the sky.

"Where? I don't see it. How can you see a star in the middle of the day?" Misty asked, possibly to make Ash look like an idiot, but at the same time was doing it to herself.

"Oh, ah, I didn't mean it's actually shining. Let's go, Pikachu," Ash said.

Ash and Pikachu then started to walk ahead.

"Seems like they're ready to win, doesn't it?" Brock asked.

"They should. After that training earlier, they'd better win. Otherwise it would've been a complete waste," Aaron said.

Aaron, Misty and Brock then followed Ash towards the Vermilion Gym.

"Huh?" the four trainers wondered when three people wearing black outfits and carrying a large flag stepped in front of them.

"Ugh! Who are you guys?" Ash asked.

"To protect the world from devastation…" the two taller figures started to say, but were then hit in the head by the smaller figure.

"Ix-nay!" the smaller figure shouted.

"We forgot!" the taller figures said.

"We are the challenger's cheerleaders and we're here to show our support for the brave Pikachu and Ash," the smaller figure said.

"Rah!" the taller figures said.

"In honor of the great Pikachu's bravery, we wish to offer a cheer!" the smaller figure said.

The three figures then started to do a cheer. A rather strange cheer at that. Aaron then noticed that the two fans the smaller figure was waving around and the flag that the bluish-purple-haired figure was waving had a large red "R" on them.

'_Oh geez. Not these guys. What do they think they're doing?_' Aaron thought to himself.

The cheer was over within a few minutes.

"Ok, let's split," the smaller figure said.

The three figures then ran down the street and away from the trainers.

"That was really disturbing," Brock said.

"That would be an understatement, Brock," Aaron said.

"Thanks for your support!" Misty called out to the three figures. "Bye, Team Rocket!"

"How did they know it was us?" Meowth could be heard asking.

"Lucky guess," Jessie could be heard saying.

"It was your flag you idiots!" Aaron shouted to the three of them. "Ah, never mind."

The trainers and Pikachu then continued to the Vermilion City Gym. Upon arriving, they were immediately led back to the battle area.

"Hey, baby… You ready to take another beating?" Surge asked. "You didn't even make your Pikachu evolve! You haven't learned anything yet."

"Don't be so sure, Surge!" Ash said.

"Ok. Well, let's see," Surge said.

"The challenger Ash using a Pikachu. The Gym Leader Lt. Surge using a Raichu. The Pokémon will battle one on one, with no time limit. Let the battle begin!" the voice on the speakers said.

"Use the strategy we planned, Pikachu!" Ash said. "You can do it!"

"A strategy-- So they've been planning a new way to lose. Go, Raichu!" Surge said.

Both Pokémon charged onto the field to battle. Pikachu jumped to attack, but Raichu spun around and hit Pikachu with its tail. Pikachu was sent flying back into the ground. As Pikachu tried to get back up, Raichu started to hit it with its tail.

"Pikachu," Ash said.

"Hang in there, Pikachu," Misty said.

"Roll to the side and break away," Brock said.

"Do it, Raichu. Give it the Body Slam," Surge said.

Raichu then jumped up and then landed on its stomach right on Pikachu's back.

"Finish it off, Raichu. Another Body slam," Surge ordered.

Raichu jumped into the air again, ready to land on the yellow mouse.

"Watch out!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu's ears then perked up and it jumped out of the way, causing Raichu to hit the ground face first.

"Hey! What?" Surge said, completely confused.

"You can do it, Pikachu. Agility now!" Ash said.

Pikachu then ran towards Raichu at incredible speed.

"Raichu! Use your Body Slam!" Surge commanded.

Raichu jumped in the air to land on Pikachu, but the yellow mouse just used its Agility to move out of the way. Raichu tried everything, but Pikachu was too fast for it.

"No, Raichu!" Surge said.

"It's working. Just like Brock and Aaron said," Misty said.

"Right. Raichu evolve too fast and it never learned the speed attacks it can only learn in the Pikachu stage," Brock said.

"And as bulky as Raichu is, it doesn't have enough speed to keep up with Pikachu," Aaron added.

"Ok, use all the Agility you got," Ash told Pikachu.

Pikachu ran at Raichu as fast as it could and then started to run circles around the orange mouse. Raichu tried to keep up, but Pikachu was movie too fast and ended up making Raichu dizzy.

"Your Raichu's way too slow, Surge," Ash said. "That's its weakness."

"Ok, Raichu, give it a Thunderbolt!" Surge commanded. "Shut it down."

Raichu did as commanded and released the powerful electric blast all over the place in an attempt to hit Pikachu. This ended up in breaking windows and tearing up the gym floor. The entire area was covered in smoke from the attack.

"Unh! Eh-uh… The end of the match," Surge said, claiming victory. "Huh? What?"

When the smoke cleared, Pikachu could be seen standing on its tail and completely unharmed.

"Pikachu!" Ash said.

"All right. Way to go," Brock said. "It used its tail as a ground and dodged the electric shock."

Pikachu then jumped down to its feet, ready to fight some more.

"Raichu! Give it another Thunderbolt," Surge ordered.

Raichu tried to do as it was told, but barely got any sparks from its cheeks. It tried again, but got the same result.

"Do something," Surge told Raichu.

"It's over," Aaron said.

"Raichu ran out of electricity," brock said.

"All right. Quick Attack," Ash told Pikachu.

Pikachu charged at Raichu full speed.

"Raichu. Take Down now," Surge commanded.

Raichu charged at Pikachu, but left itself wide open as Pikachu jumped up and struck Raichu's belly. Pikachu then transferred electric power to its tail and smacked Raichu in the face. Raichu fell over unconscious fro the hit.

"Unbelievable!" Surge shouted as he grabbed his head.

"We did it, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.

"Way to go!" Brock said.

"Fantastic!" Misty said.

"Excellent work!" Aaron said.

Not long after, Raichu regained consciousness and got back up. Surge and Raichu then walked up to Ash and the others.

"Congratulations. Nice job, Ash, Pikachu," Surge said as he and Ash shook hands. "As proof of your victory, a Thunder Badge."

Surge reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a yellow badge with an orange center, handing it to Ash.

"Thank you," Ash said as he took the badge. "Would you look at that? It's really a Thunder Badge."

"You should be proud. You and your Pikachu really fought good together," Surge said.

"Thanks," Ash said, then started to get psyched as he struck a pose. "A Thunder Badge! And it's all mine."

"Nice victory, Ash," Surge said as he and the two people that were with him clapped. "You're no baby."

"Congratulations, Ash, Pikachu," brock said as he, Misty and Aaron clapped as well.

"You finally got your own badge," Misty said.

Even Raichu was clapping for Pikachu.

"Pika!" Pikachu said as it scratched the back of its head. "Pi?"

Ash then picked up Pikachu.

"Thank you, Pikachu. This was your victory," Ash said.

Ash and Pikachu hugged each other as Pikachu let loose an electric shock, but not a harmful one, around itself and Ash.

"Wow! Now I can see lots of lucky stars," Ash said.

"Those two really are quite a team," Misty said.

"An odd team, but a team nonetheless," Aaron said.

"Yes, indeed," Brock agreed.

Ash and Pikachu just laughed as they were still surrounded by the electricity Pikachu had released.

* * *

**Me: There we go. How did you all like it?**

**Misty: Ash! Why'd you have to hit Aaron?**

**Ash: He insulted me.**

**Brock: But you've never gone so far as to punch someone before.**

**Aaron: Guys, it's ok. At least it was nothing major.**

**Misty: "nothing major"? Ash gave you a freaking scar across your nose!**

**Ash: Sorry, Aaron.**

**Aaron: Like I said, it's ok.**

**Me: You sure are calm.**

**Aaron: I deserved it.**

**Misty: No you didn't! Ash didn't have to go that far.**

**Brock: Come on, guys. Don't you think we've had enough fighting for now?**

**Me: Brock's right. Save it for future chapters, alright?**

**Misty&Aaron&Ash: Alright.**

**Me: Good. Now, Aaron, since you helped to train Pikachu, why don't you give the closer?**

**Aaron: Alright. Please R&R, everyone.**


	12. Battle Aboard The St Anne

**Me: Here we go, chapter 12 and episode 15.**

**Misty: This one was kind of scary.**

**Brock: Yeah. We almost didn't make it out last time.**

**Aaron: I'm sure we'll be fine.**

**Ash: And I almost lost Butterfree.**

**Me: Come on, guys. You have nothing to worry about. Oh, and Aaron, sorry but you don't have much of a role in this chapter. Or for a few chapters as far as I know.**

**Aaron: No problem. But you did say I take over as main role for season 2, right? So that should make up for some of these, right?**

**Me: Of course. Now then, I think I'll give the disclaimer for this one. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 12: Episode 15: Battle Aboard The St. Anne-

After obtaining his Thunder Badge, Ash and his friends head outside of Vermilion City and towards the harbor. Ash took out his Thunder Badge and held it up to the sun. Then Ash noticed a cruise ship in the distance.

"Hey!" Ash said.

The four trainers then walked closer to check out the ship.

"Wow," Ash said.

"Beautiful," Misty said.

"Oh, man, I'd love to cross the ocean on a ship like this," Ash said.

"Yeah. Just think of all the Pokémon we'd be able to see along the way," Brock said.

"Oh, for sure!" Misty said. "Just imagine, sunbathing on deck all say. Just a nice, long, relaxing cruise."

"We could never afford a cruise like that," Brock said.

"Ohh," Misty sighed with a depressed look.

Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock then sulked as they slowly walked away.

"Reality can really bum you out," Ash said.

"Congratulations!" the four trainers heard someone say as confetti was shot at them.

The four of them nearly jumped from the surprise and saw two girls with tanned skin. One had blonde hair and the other had orange hair. They were both wearing some kind of highschool uniform or something which required a skirt.

"You guys are way lucky!" the two girls said. "You can go on a super deluxe sea cruise."

"A sea cruise?" the four trainers repeated.

"Well, it's like, you know, we have these incredible super cool tickets for you," said the orange haired girl.

"Cool," said the blonde girl.

"Cool, huh?" the orange-haired girl said as she handed the tickets to Ash.

"What?" Misty wondered.

"These are tickets for the biggest party ever, on board the _St. Anne_ cruise liner," the orange-haired girl said.

"The famous _St. Anne_?" Ash repeated.

"Cool!" the blonde girl said.

"The coolest ship on the sea," the orange-haired girl said.

"Oh," Brock said.

"Everyone's going to be together and, like, have the coolest party," the orange-haired girl explained.

"Cool!" the blonde girl said.

"And the party's for Pokémon trainers only," the orange-haired girl said.

"Cool!" the blonde girl said.

"Step this way," the orange-haired girl said as the blonde girl made one heck of a weird giggling sound. "It'll be a radical party. All of the most radical Pokémon trainers will be there."

"Do you know anybody who says "radical" anymore?" Ash asked.

"Mm-mmm," Misty answered as she shook her head.

"I think everyone stopped staying that around 20-or-so years ago," Aaron said.

"Ok, dudes, here are your tickets," the orange-haired girl said as she held out the tickets.

"We'd love to go on the Pokémon trainer cruise, but we really don't have the money to pay for it," Brock said.

"Oh, whoa, like, you don't understand.," the orange-haired girl said.

"Cool!" the blonde girl said.

"They're totally free," the orange-haired girl said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"Totally free, to-tal-ly free," the orange-haired girl said.

"For free? Why are you giving them away?" Ash asked.

"Oh, like, we have to go out with our boyfriends, but we wanted to give our tickets to cool Pokémon fans," the orange-haired girl said.

"Cool!" the blonde girl said.

'_Something seems a little off here,_' Aaron thought to himself. "Then why not take your boyfriends with you? You have four tickets after all."

"They, like, have a fear of water and get seasick easily," the orange-haired girl answered.

'_Hm… Good enough, I guess. At first I thought this was some trick,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"So anyway, we saw you and thought you looked really cool," the orange-haired girl said. "Just take these and have a really cool time."

"Thanks a lot," Ash said as he took the tickets.

"No sweat," the orange-haired girl said.

"Cool!" the blonde said.

"Have a nice day, for sure," the orange-haired girl said.

The two girls then ran off.

"All right, this really is cool, isn't it?" Ash asked his friends.

"Yeah. And I can't believe how lucky that was. Guess you'll get to do your sunbathing after all, Misty," Aaron said as he grinned to the redhead.

"And I can't believe we also get to go on the _St. Anne_. That's even luckier," Misty said.

"I can't wait for the Pokémon party," Ash said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," Brock said.

The four trainers started walking down the harbor looking for their ship.

"I wonder which one of these ships is the _St. Anne_?" Ash said.

"I think that's it," Misty said as she pointed at one of the ship.

"Huh?" the other three trainers said as they turned to see where Misty was looking.

"Wow, that's incredible," Brock said as he looked at the ship in awe.

"It's huge," Misty said.

"Such a fancy ship. How the heck did those two girls get tickets for it?" Aaron wondered.

"Who cares how they got them? They gave them to us completely free," Ash said.

"Yeah. This has to be our luckiest break," Misty said.

"You're right. Let's enjoy this," Aaron agreed.

The four trainers then walked up to the _St. Anne_.

"What an awesome ship," Ash said.

"I'd like to travel around the whole world in this," Misty said.

The four trainers walked up the stairs and onto the ship. Ash then flashed the tickets to the guy in the suit.

"Welcome aboard the _St. Anne_. This way," the man said as he bowed and let them on the ship.

The four trainers walked on and went into the ship.

"Wow, look at this!" Ash said.

A lot of people were already inside the ship. Just about everyone had out at east one of their Pokémon and everyone was talking about how well their Pokémon is doing, how healthy it is, or exchanging battle tips. There were even souvenir stands that sold various items such as PokéBalls, t-shirts with Pokémon on them, Pokémon-shaped food, and several other things.

"It's like a giant Pokémon convention," Ash said as the four trainers walked around.

"Everyone's a Pokémon trainer," Misty said.

The four of them then passed by some trainers talking about their Charmander and Squirtle.

"My Squirtle and my Charmander are much better than theirs are," Ash said.

"No need to start getting jealous, Ash," Aaron said.

"Who says I'm jealous?" Ash asked.

"You're getting worked up about how much better you're Pokémon are. You don't call that jealousy?" Misty asked.

Ash was about to argue back when something caught his ear.

"All right, bring them on," a voice said.

The four trainers turned to see what the commotion was about and saw two people about to have a Pokémon battle. On one side was a Raticate and on the other was a Starmie.

"Raticate, a Jump Kick!" the man with a top hat said.

The Raticate leaped forward for its attack.

"All right, Starmie, spinning Tackle!" said the man's challenger.

The Water/Psychic Pokémon started to spin as it flew towards the Raticate. The Normal-type Pokémon hit Starmie's jeweled core and both Pokémon landed back on the ground. Ash pushed through the crowd to try and get a better view of the battle.

"Geez. He's like a little kid. His attention is always going to the next thing," Aaron said.

"What do you mean? He _is_ only 10 remember? So he's still a kid," Misty said.

"True," Aaron said.

"All right, they're having a battle!" Ash said.

"Raticate, Super Fang attack now!" the man with the top hat said.

Raticate charged at the Starmie and bit the jeweled core as hard as it could until it cracked. Starmie jumped back, but fainted not long after. The "Win" sign above the head of the man in the top hat lit up.

"Are you ok, Starmie? Ohh," the boy who lost said as he held up his Pokémon.

"Oh, don't feel too badly, young man. The man in the top hat said. "It was only a practice match anyhow, and I just happened to be lucky."

A woman wearing a purple dress then walked towards the man in the top hat.

"My, how gracious," the woman said.

"Not at all, miss," the man said, then turned to face the boy again. "Keep working on building your Starmie's strength there. Well, now, is anybody else brave enough to challenge my Raticate?"

"Mmm, I can't wait!" Ash said, a fire in his eyes.

Ash then ran onto the field.

"Ash sure seems fired up," Aaron said.

"How about battling my Butterfree?" Ash asked the man with the top hat.

"As you wish," the man said.

"Well, I hope he knows what he's doing," Misty said.

"Knowing him, it's doubtful," Aaron said.

Ash sent out his Butterfly Pokémon and the two trainers waited until they were both ready.

"Raticate, a Jump Kick!" the man commanded.

"Butterfree, Tackle!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Both Pokémon charged at each other and it seemed like an even match as they hit each other, backed away and went on the attack again.

"Does Ash's Butterfree even stand a chance against that Raticate?" Misty asked.

"Sure. It's a good match, really," Brock said.

"The only question now is how long he can keep this up for," Aaron said.

"Finish it, Raticate. Hyper Fang attack!" the man ordered.

Raticate jumped at Butterfree for its attack, but Butterfree just dodged it.

"Butterfree, Stun Spore!" Ash said.

Butterfree flapped its wings, releasing the yellow powder-like substance onto the Raticate.

"All right, now the Whirlwind!" Ash said.

But before Butterfree could use its attack, Ash's opponent walked onto the battlefield and picked up his Raticate.

"Well, that's enough," the man said.

"Huh?' Ash wondered.

"Why don't we just call it a draw?" the man suggested before walking away.

"But I was winning," Ash said to himself.

Aaron, Misty and Brock walked up to Ash.

"You all right, Ash?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah. But I was about to win," Ash said.

"I guess he didn't like seeing it get hurt like that," Brock figured.

"Then why make it battle in the first place? You know it'll get hurt anyway," Misty said.

"Good point," Brock said.

"Well I don't think it matters anyway. The match is over. What do you guys say we go grab something to eat?" Aaron suggested.

"Sure," Brock and Misty agreed.

"What about you, Ash?" Aaron asked, but turned around to see Ash was gone. "I wonder where he went."

"I think he's way ahead of us," Brock said as he pointed over at the buffet.

Aaron looked over where Brock was pointing and saw Ash stuffing his face, causing the brown-haired boy to sweatdrop.

"Well, we might as well get going," Aaron said.

Aaron, Misty and Brock then went to join Ash at the buffet table and grabbed a bit of food to eat. Although, Aaron seemed to be the only one not stuffing his face with food.

"You've got to be kidding me," Aaron said to himself as he watched his friends.

"So, are you having a good time?" the four trainers heard and turned to see the man that Ash had battled walk up to them along with the woman in the purple dress.

"Yes, sir, we're having a great time," Ash answered.

"You know, that Butterfree of yours is quite extraordinary," the man said.

"It's incredible," the woman said.

Brock just stood there and stared at the woman.

"She's beautiful," Brock said.

"Hello in there," Misty said as she waved her hand in Brock's face.

"Beautiful," Brock said in a daze.

"Here we go again," Misty sighed.

"I doubt he'll ever change, Misty," Aaron said.

"Well, I but a lot of work into raising it," Ash said to the man with the top hat.

"What did you think of my Raticate?" the man asked.

"It looked great and it really put up a tough fight," Ash answered.

"In that case, I'll be direct. Why don't we trade?" the man asked.

"Trade Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"When two people find that they each like the other's Pokémon, they trade. It's quite a common practice everywhere," the man answered.

"Everywhere?" Ash repeated.

"You see, friends who trade then trade with their other friends, and so friendships grow deeper and continue to spread wider and wider. Trading and making new friends is one of the best things about having Pokémon," the man said. "That's how Pokémon friendships get to spread all around the world."

"Wow," Ash said.

"Friendship is wonderful, isn't it?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you and I start a friendship right now?" Brock asked the woman, but apparently no one was listening.

"Should I trade, Brock?" Ash asked his friend.

"Oh, yeah. You gotta trade, everybody should trade, let's start trading," Brock answered, but he was in too much of a daze that he'd practically agree to anything.

"Well, ok," Ash said.

Ash, Misty, Aaron, Brock, and the man in the top hat walked into a room that held several machines which were used to trade Pokémon. The man in the top hat led the four trainers to one of the machines and he held out the PokéBall that contained his Raticate while Ash held the one that had his Butterfree. Then they put their PokéBalls in the slots on each side of the machine.

"Here we go," the man said.

Ash just nodded his head, but was wondering if this was the right thing to do. The man then pushed one of the buttons on the machine to start the trade. The PokéBalls were sucked into the machine and the images of both Pokémon appeared on the screen, sliding to the opposite side. The PokéBalls then dropped back into the slots.

"Well, that's all there is to it," the man said as he picked up his new Butterfree and Ash took his new Raticate. "Raticate is your new Pokémon."

Ash just looked at the PokéBall which held Raticate and was still wondering if he made a good decision. After wandering around the ship a bit longer, Ash hung around by one of the windows and looked at the PokéBall that his new Raticate was in. Aaron and Misty saw this.

"Ash seems a little down," Misty said.

"Maybe we should go cheer him up," Aaron suggested.

Both Cerulean trainers just nodded to each other and walked up to Ash.

"What's the matter, Ash? You look so serious," Misty said.

"Yeah. And usually the only time we see you like this is in a battle," Aaron added.

"I was just thinking, I wonder if that guy is gonna take good care of my Butterfree," Ash answered.

"Oh," Misty said in understanding.

"I traded my Butterfree to some guy I don't even know just because he seemed to like trading so much. I really don't know if he'll take care of it the way I did," Ash said.

"But look on the bright side-- you got a Raticate," Misty said, trying to cheer up her hat-wearing friend.

"Mmm, it's just when I was trading it away, I remembered the time when it evolved into Butterfree," Ash said.

"Well, if you're not happy with the trade or want your Butterfree back, you could always find that guy again and ask to switch back," Aaron suggested.

"You sure he will?" Ash asked.

"If you explain the situation, then I'm sure he'll understand and give back your Butterfree and take back his Raticate," Aaron answered.

"Thanks. I think I might do that," Ash said as he walked back to the party room.

"So he just missed his Butterfree," Aaron said.

"That was actually really nice of you, Aaron. Despite what Ash did to you before," Misty said.

Aaron just chuckled a bit as he put his hand over his nose where Ash had punched him. It had healed into a fairly nice scar.

"Ash just cares about his Pokémon. I'd probably do the same thing if I were in his shoes," Aaron said.

"Well, let's head back," Misty said, to which Aaron nodded in agreement.

The two of them walked back to the party room to find Ash and Brock. But once they found their friends, the doors in the room all slammed shut.

"Hey!" Ash said.

Several people tore off their own clothes to reveal they were really Team Rocket agents in disguise. The lights dimmed and then one light came back on above one of the tables. The four trainers turned to see what was going on.

"Not those two again," the four trainers said at the same time.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation," James said, though he seemed to be rather depressed.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light."

"Oh, surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! That's right," Meowth said as he jumped in.

"Team Rocket will now take possession of your Pokémon," Jessie declaired.

"Our Pokémon?" one person in the crowd repeated.

Other people started to say things against what was happening. But some of the Team Rocket members had activated the machines on their back and started to suck up all the PokéBalls. One of the Team Rocket agents walked up to the four trainers and held out his hand.

"Give me your Pokémon," the Team Rocket member demanded.

"No way!" Misty said.

"Don't make me take them," another Team Rocket member said.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

The small yellow mouse released an electric attack on the Team Rocket member and knocked him out.

"If they're gonna try to rob our Pokémon, we might as well make it a battle," Ash said.

The other people in the room agreed with Ash and grabbed their PokéBalls to fight.

"Suck them up, suck them up, suck them all up," Jessie said as PokéBalls just flew into the machine on her back.

"Atta way to go, guys. Keep sucking them up," Meowth shouted. "Make sure you get every last one."

"Squirtle, go!" the man in the top hat called out, throwing his PokéBall and revealing the Tiny Turtle Pokémon.

"We gotta fight them together," Brock said.

"Pikachu, go!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Aaron grabbed two of the PokéBalls from his belt and threw them.

"Fearow! Oddish! Let's go!" Aaron called out.

Both PokéBalls opened up and revealed Aaron's Beak Pokémon and Weed Pokémon. Pokémon from all over the ship were gathering together for team attacks. Ash's Pikachu joined the other Pikachu and they all released their best electric attacks. Ash then threw another PokéBall.

"Charmander, I choose you!" Ash called out.

Ash's Charmander, along with a group of other Charmander, blasted the Team Rocket members with a powerful Flamethrower.

"Go, Oddish!" Aaron called out.

Aaron's Oddish joined a group of other Oddish and all of them used Razor Leaf on the Team Rock members **(A/N: According to a moves list on Serebii, Oddish cannot use Razor Leaf. However, I seem to recall Oddish using the attack in few episodes in the anime.)**.

"Geodude, go!" Brock called out as he threw his PokéBall.

Brock's Geodude join a group of other Geodude and they linked arms as they started to spin into a few Team Rocket members. Aaron's Fearow, however, was unable to find any other group of Fearow and so flew back to Aaron.

"No luck, huh? Oh well. Return, Fearow," Aaron recalled his Beak Pokémon to its ball.

A group of Bulbasaur got together, including Ash's, and teamed up with Vine Whip attacks. Ash then noticed a group of Butterfree spreading Stun Spore and reached for one of his PokéBalls.

"Now, it's my turn. Go, Butterfree!" Ash called out as he threw his PokéBall.

However, Ash seemed to have forgotten about his trade earlier and Raticate appeared from within the PokéBall.

"Huh?" Ash said, confused.

"Ash, you traded it, remember?" Misty reminded the hat-wearing boy.

"Oh, yeah," Ash said, then seemed to sulk a bit. "Butterfree."

Ash then started to remember back when Metapod had evolved into Butterfree.

"Keep it up, Oddish!" Aaron said. '_I'd send out Tentacool to help as well, but there are no water fountains or anything and no other Tentacool around. So it seems Oddish is my only choice here._'

"I raised that Butterfree all by myself. I have to get Butterfree back," Ash said.

"Then hurry up and find the guy you traded with, Ash. We can hold things up here," Aaron said.

"You sure?" Ash asked.

"We'll be fine. Go get your Pokémon back," Aaron answered.

"Hand over the PokéBalls," a Team Rocket member demanded.

Ash quickly grabbed one of his PokéBalls and threw it.

""Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Ash called out.

The Bird Pokémon appeared from within the PokéBall and joined a group of Pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto, group Gust!" Ash said.

All the Pidgeotto formed a circle and used their Gust attack, forming a small tornado that sent the Team Rocket members flying out of the ship.

"Guess you still need me here to help," Ash said.

"If you insist," Arron shrugged.

"Pikachu, all together, Thunderbolt!" Ash told his yellow rodent.

All the Pikachu grouped back together, led by Ash's Pikachu, and they all released a powerful Thunderbolt attack, sending the last of the Team Rocket members off the ship.

"We did it! Great job!" Ash cheered, along with everyone else in the room. "I think we should all be very proud of our Pokémon. And we taught Team Rocket a lesson they'll never forget."

But then something hit the ship and it started to tilt over, then the ship was hit from the opposite side. The _St. Anne_ started to rock back and forth as it was being pummeled by the waved.

"Oh, no! It's a big storm," Misty said.

"It'll be tough to get back with waves like this," Brock said.

Aaron looked out the window and a grim look appeared on his face.

"What?" Misty said.

"I don't think we'll be able to get back," Aaron said to himself.

"Hey, where's Ash?" Misty wondered.

The three trainers looked around and Ash was nowhere to be seen.

"You don't think?" Brock asked.

"He probably went to get his Butterfree back," Aaron said.

"Then let's go get him," Brock said.

Aaron and Misty nodded in agreement and the three trainers ran towards the trading room. The reached the room and found Ash in the middle of trading back with the man who had his Butterfree.

"Come on, Ash, we gotta go," Misty said. "The ship is sinking."

"Hold on," Ash said.

The raven-haired boy then grabbed his PokéBall when it dropped into its slot.

"Butterfree, please forgive me," Ash said.

The ship was hit by another wave, causing Ash to lose his grip on Butterfree's PokéBall.

"Butterfree!" Ash called out as he ran after the PokéBall.

"Ash!" Misty called out as she, Aaron and Brock ran after Ash.

The ship was hit by another wave and started to tilt into the ocean.

""I got it!" Ash said as he finally reached Butterfree PokéBall and grabbed it.

But when the ship was hit, it sent the four trainers into one of the rooms and knocked them out cold as the ship sank into the sea.

* * *

**Me: Oh shit. What have I done? Well... uh... please R&R everyone.**


	13. Pokémon Shipwreck

**Me: This is bad. This is very, very bad. I hope they're ok. Well, here's there disclaimer since I'm there only one here. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 13: Episode 16: Pokémon Shipwreck-

"Hey, Ash, answer me!" Brock said.

"Wake up, Ash! Wake up!" Misty said.

"Come on, kid. Snap out of it!" Aaron said.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said.

"Huh… what?" Ash wondered as he opened his eyes.

"Hey, are you feelin' ok, Ash?" Brock asked.

"What? Uh… Oh, brother. What are you talking about, am I feeling ok? You guys are the ones who are upside down," Ash said.

"Guess again, Ash," Aaron said.

"_You're_ definitely the one upside down!" Misty said.

"Huh? Uhhh…" Ash said as he attempted to look up as all the blood rushed to his head. "Whooaaa!"

"Look out!" Misty said.

Ash's jacket untied itself from the table and Ash fell right onto Pikachu.

"Will someone tell me what in the world happened?" Ash asked.

"Have a look out the window for your answer," Aaron said.

"Huh… Huh?!" Ash said as he stood up and ran to the window. "Fish swimming? This can't be! But that must mean… that this ship has sunk!"

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious. We've figured that out before you woke up," Aaron said.

"So how do we get out of here?" Ash asked.

"Don't know," was all Aaron answered with.

"We should try looking for an exit," Brock suggested.

"Brock's right. There should be a way out of here somewhere," Misty said.

Ash and Aaron turned to face Misty and Brock and nodded their heads in agreement. The four trainers then left the room to try and find a way out. The reached what seemed like a stairwell, but everything below them was flooded.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ash asked. "The ship's leaking everywhere!"

"We've got to keep calm," Misty answered.

"Misty's right. So long as we have air, it'll take a while for the ship to be flooded," Aaron said.

"Sure, but we better not waste any time escaping," Brock said.

"Well, we can either go up or down," Misty said.

"Well, if we're sinking, then up would definitely be better," Ash said. "And if the ship is flipped upside down…"

"The deck is below us," Misty said as she pointed down, then she pointed up. "And the ship's bottom is up above our heads."

"Then we have to dive down to the deck!" Ash declared.

"But if we dive down to the deck and come across a dead end, then we're done for," Brock said.

"Oh!" Ash said as he imagined the worst-case scenario. "So how are we supposed to know?"

Misty and Aaron then looked at each other and nodded as they each grabbed a PokéBall.

"Water is our specialty," Misty said, then she threw her PokéBall. "Go, Goldeen!"

"Let's go, Tentacool!" Aaron said as he also threw his PokéBall.

Both Pokémon materialized from their balls and into the water.

"Goldeen, dive down to the deck. If you find a way off the ship, bring something back from the outside," Misty said.

"And Tentacool, if there's anything blocking the way that you're able to move, I want you to do so. But if there's anything too big for you to move, then either try finding another way or bring Goldeen back with you," Aaron said.

Both Pokémon nodded before diving down into the water.

"So I guess now we wait," Ash said.

"Let's just hope they find something," Brock said as the other three trainers nodded in agreement.

The four trainers sat at the one spot for what seemed like hours.

"What's taking Goldeen and Tentacool so long?" Ash wondered.

"I guess they couldn't find a way out," Misty said.

"Aah!" all four trainers gasped as something rose out of the water.

All four of them nearly jumped out of their skin as they saw the face of James who had passed out from being underwater for so long. Goldeen and Tentacool threw James, as well as Jessie and Meowth, in front of the four trainers.

"Team Rocket?" Ash wondered.

"They look terrible," Brock said.

The three Team Rocket members spat out water.

"Prepare… prepare for trouble," Jessie said weakly.

"Yes, make it double," James said.

The two of them looked up and saw the four trainers.

"You?!" both humans members of Team Rocket shouted.

"We've got you brats cornered," Jessie said as the three Team Rocket members stood up and both she and James held out a PokéBall.

"So you followed us all the way to the bottom of the sea!" brock said as both he and Ash grabbed a PokéBall.

"Ekans!" Jessie called out as she threw her PokéBall.

"Koffing!" James said as he threw his ball.

"Here we go!" both Ash and Brock said together as they threw their PokéBalls.

Ekans, Koffing, Geodude, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle materialized from within their PokéBalls.

"All right! A match!" Ash said.

But all the extra weight started to make the ship tilt. Misty and Aaron recalled Goldeen and Tentacool first before everyone started sliding along the ground into one of the corners.

"This ship will roll if we don't do something quick," Misty said.

"Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Geodude, Koffing, Ekans, to the other side of the ship!" Ash ordered the Pokémon.

All the Pokémon did as told and made their way to the opposite side. However, it shifted the weight too much and the six humans slid over to where the Pokémon were.

"This isn't help the situation any!" Aaron said.

"To the other side! The other side!" Ash commanded.

All the Pokémon did as told and made their way back to the other side of the ship.

"Geodude! Come back to this side!" Brock told his Pokémon.

The Rock/Ground Pokémon did as its trainer said and bounced back towards the humans. The ship continued to tilt from the weight shifting around so much.

"You guys, call back your Pokémon," Misty said.

"But Team Rocket will beat us if we call our Pokémon back," Ash said.

"He's right," Brock said.

"We can't worry about that right now," Misty said. "We've got worse troubles."

"Yeah!" Ash and Brock agreed and called back their Pokémon.

"Call your Pokémon back, too!" Misty said to Team Rocket. "What's more important, a Pokémon battle or your life?"

"She's right. Good point," Jessie said as she and James returned their Pokémon.

The ship's weight then finally evened out and it stopped tilting. Everyone then let out a sigh of relief.

"Ok, then. We all agree there won't be any battle for now. Let's work together-- Huh?!" Misty said as she saw Ash and Brock glared at Jessie and James and vice versa.

"Cut it out you guys. We need to work as a team if we plan on getting out of here," Aaron said. "So shake hands and agree not to fight."

The four of them then calmed down somewhat and shook each other's hands.

"This is just a temporary truce until we get out of this mess," Jessie said.

"Better believe it," Ash said.

Meowth and Pikachu shook hands, but Pikachu decided to give the Scratch Cat Pokémon one last shock of electricity for the moment.

"Pikachu!" Misty shouted at the rodent.

"It's agreed. We work together," Jessie said.

"Now we gotta think of some way to escape," Ash said.

"Leave it to me. I forgot to mention I built my own _Saint Anne_ one," Misty said, earning gasps of surprise from Ash, Brock, Jessie and James. "It was a model."

"Oh, great," Ash said.

"So that's how you know the entire structure of this ship," Aaron said.

"That's right. And since the way to the deck is blocked, we'll have to climb to the bottom of the ship. We can cut a hole in the hull. That's how we'll escape," Misty said.

"Well, at least it's a plan, anyway," Ash said.

"Over there," Brock said as he pointed towards a staircase.

Unfortunately, the staircase was unreachable since everyone was on the ceiling and the stairs only led down to the bottom. So Brock grabbed one of his PokéBalls and threw it.

"Onix! Make a staircase!" Brock called out.

The giant Rock/Ground Pokémon materialized and bit near the stairs and turned itself into a set of stairs.

"Let's hurry!" Brock said as the four trainers ran up Onix's back.

"Right," Ash agreed.

Aaron then turned around to face Team Rocket.

"Unless you guys want to go down with the ship, I suggest to get moving!" Aaron said as he followed after his three friends.

"Yes, sir!" Jessie, James and Meowth said together and followed after Aaron.

The group continued walking after Brock recalled Onix and they eventually reached a darkened hallway.

"The lights are out. I can't see anything," Brock said.

"Let me handle it," Ash said as he grabbed a PokéBall. "Charmander! I choose you."

The ball opened and the Lizard Pokémon materialized, lighting up a portion of the hallway.

"So where does this hall lead to?" Ash asked Misty.

"This corridor leads straight to the engine room, and that's where the hull is the thinnest," Misty answered. "With a little luck, we should be able to cut our way through."

The group reached a door and opened it. Waiting for them inside was a massive inferno below them with the only way across gone.

"This is no good," Ash said. "Its impossible to cross to the engine room."

"Jessica…" James said.

"Yes, James?" Jessie asked.

"Whoever said "beauty doesn't last" must have been thinking of us," James answered.

"I'll always remember what a wonderful dresser you were," Jessie said.

"So will I," James said.

"Will you two knock it off!" Misty yelled at the two Team Rocket members. "There has gotta be some way to get off this ship. There must be some angle we haven't thought of yet."

"Think, Ash," Ash said to himself, then held his arm out to Pikachu. "Pikachu, give my brain a jump-start."

Pikachu grabbed Ash's hand and released some electricity.

"No, that's didn't work. Try again," Ash said.

Pikachu did as it was told, but still nothing.

"Ash, before you fry what amount of your brain you have, call out Bulbasaur," Aaron said.

"Huh? Uh, ok," Ash said as he held out Bulbasaur's PokéBall and called it out.

"Bulbasaur, think you can make a path to the other side using Vine Whip?" Aaron asked the Seed Pokémon.

Bulbasaur nodded and did as Aaron requested.

"Hey, nice thinking, Aaron," Misty said.

"Thanks. As much fun as it was to see Ash try to make himself extra-crispy, I figured I'd save that until we're out of here," Aaron said.

"Hey!" Ash yelled.

"Al right, all right. This isn't the time to be arguing," Brock said.

The three trainers turned to Brock and nodded and they slowly made their way across Bulbasaur's vines.

"I can't cross that inferno," James said. "Jessie and Meowth, you go ahead. I'm staying here!"

"James! James! James! James! James!" Jessie yelled at the man as she slapped him each time she said his name. "Snap out of it. How long do you think you'd last on this side? Now let's go. We'll cross together."

"Oh, Jessie, please don't abandon me," James said.

"Don't worry. I won't leave you," Jessie said.

"Hey! Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

"Wait! Don't leave us! Send back the vines!" the three Team Rocket members yelled.

Once Jessie, James and Meowth had made it to where the four trainers were, they sat down to catch their breath after they had a few close calls of almost falling off the vines. Ash had also recalled Bulbasaur to its ball.

"Now I know what a toasted marshmallow feels like," Meowth said.

"Hey. No time to take a break," Ash said.

"We've got to get off this ship quick," Misty said.

"Right," Ash said as he called out Charmander again. "Charmander! I choose you!"

"Char!" the Lizard Pokémon said.

"Charmander, we need you to weld through the metal hull of the ship with your flame," Ash said.

Charmander did as it was told and concentrated its Flamethrower into a thin flame to try and cut through the ship.

"Ok. Listen up. Grab hold of a Water Pokémon and swim to the surface," Misty said.

"Yeah, right. Got it, Ash?" Brock asked.

"I'll be ok with my Squirtle," Ash said.

"Hey, don't forget about us," Jessie said. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Just grab a Water Pokémon," Misty answered.

"Water Pokémon?!" Meowth repeated.

"It's almost burned through," Ash said as he looked up at the hull.

Once Charmander's flame cut through, the hull burst open and water started pouring in. Charmander tried to run, but Ash made sure to recall it to its ball.

"Are you crazy? What have you done?" Meowth said.

Misty had called out Goldeen and Starmie and tied herself to Goldeen while Brock tied himself to Starmie. Ash called out Squirtle and tied himself and Pikachu to the Tiny Turtle Pokémon while Aaron called out Tentacool and tied himself to the Jellyfish Pokémon.

"Now, let's go, Squirtle," Ash told his Pokémon.

The four trainers hand their Water Pokémon swam up through the water and out of the ship.

"Follow us, Team Rocket!" Ash called out before he went through the water.

The four trainers weren't able to hear Team Rocket's response as they made their way to the surface. Ash, Misty and Brock swam farther ahead while Aaron, due to himself being a terrible swimmer, was straggling behind. Tentacool had to work harder to get its trainer up to the surface. Ash, Misty and Brock made it to the surface first and found a large plank of wood to swim to. Once they got on it, they recalled their Pokémon.

"Phew. That was a close one," Ash said.

"You said it," Brock agreed.

"Hang on," Misty said as she looked around and started to panic when she noticed someone was missing. "Where's Aaron?"

"What?!" both Ash and Brock wondered as they looked around and the brown-haired trainer was nowhere to be seen.

Aaron wasn't able to hold his breath for as long as the others were and passed out, making himself dead weight for his Tentacool and making it harder for Tentacool to swim up. The Jellyfish Pokémon figured that if it used an attack towards the surface, the others would see it. So Tentacool used Poison Sting and the needles shot out of the surface. The three trainers that made it out of the water turned around to see the attack.

"What was that?" Brock wondered.

"I think that was Tenatcool's Poison Sting," Misty said.

"He's still down there?" Ash asked.

Misty threw a PokéBall and called out Staryu.

"Staryu, go look for Aaron and Tentacool and bring them here," Misty said.

"Hyah!" the Starshape Pokémon said before diving down.

It wasn't a very long wait before Staryu came back with Tentacool and a passed out Aaron. The three trainers pulled Aaron onto the makeshift raft.

"Is he ok?" Ash wondered.

"Come on, Aaron. Wake up," Misty said as she tried to shake him.

Aaron's eyes didn't open, so Misty tried pushing on his chest, thinking he got some water into his lungs. It wasn't long before Aaron started coughing and rolled over to throw-up the water back into the ocean.

"Oh my stomach," Aaron said as he rolled onto his back again.

"You're alive!" Misty said.

"You won't get rid of me that easily," Aaron said, then turned over to his Tentacool. "Sorry I slowed you down, buddy. If I could swim better, then I wouldn't have held you back."

Tentacool was just glad its trainer was all right, then Aaron looked over at his friends.

"And sorry if I worried you guys. I'm not that good a swimmer, as you can most likely see," Aaron chuckled.

"Hey, at least you're still alive," Brock said.

"Yeah," Aaron said before slowly standing up, but nearly stumbled over. "Whoa. Gotta be careful."

"Hold up," Ash said as he looked around.

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Aaron, did you see Team Rocket down there?" Ash asked.

"No, I didn't," Aaron answered.

"Do you think they're still trapped inside?" Misty wondered.

"There's nothing more we can do, except try to find some dry land," Brock said.

"Let's see. Nothing but ocean in every direction," Ash said as he looked around. "And no way to tell which direction to go."

"I remember the story of Noah, who when he had to find dry land, sent a bird to find it and return with a branch," Brock said.

"What a great idea. We're gonna do the same thing as Noah," Ash said as he grabbed a PokéBall. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

Ash threw the ball and Ash's Flying-type Pokémon appeared.

"Pidgeotto, bring us back whatever you find!" Ash told his Pokémon, which did as told and flew off. "We're counting on you, Pidgeotto."

"Hey, Ash. Ever think it would've been easier if you told it to look for something specific?" Aaron said as he sat on the raft.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"You only told it to bring back something. If we want to find land, don't you think you could've asked it to bring back a branch or something like in the story?" Aaron asked.

"Uh… looks like I goofed," Ash said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well there really isn't anything we can do now but wait for Pidgeotto to come back," Misty said.

"Yeah," Aaron said as he lay on his back to try and get his strength back.

It wasn't too long before Pidgeotto came back while carrying Team Rocket and a Magikarp that they were tied to. Aaron had regained his strength and stood up with his friends.

"They weren't able to make it," Misty said.

"Not even Team Rocket deserved this," Ash said.

"Yeah. I guess the only decent thing to do is to give them a traditional burial at sea," Brock said.

"That's right. It's our duty, even if they were our enemies," Ash said.

The four trainers then started to push Team Rocket off the raft and back into the water when Jessie and James suddenly sprang up and launched Meowth into the water.

"Aah! Zombies!" the four trainers yelled.

"Who are you calling zombies?" James asked.

"We are not zombies," Jessie said.

"Somebody help! My fur's getting' wet," Meowth said as it slowly climbed back onto the raft.

Night soon fell and the groups went to sleep with Ash, Misty and Brock getting Aaron to sleep in the middle of the raft so he wouldn't fall back in and drown. The next day, both groups sat on the raft and just seemed to stare at the Magikarp Team Rocket had. All of their stomachs growled from hunger.

"I'm so hungry," Ash complained.

"It seems like forever since we last ate," Brock said.

"If I'd known I was gonna be starving, I would've stuffed my face full when I was on the _Saint Anne_!" Misty yelled.

Aaron would've made a comment on this, but kept his mouth shut for fear that his response would result in a major butt-kicking from Misty.

"Ohh. I want some food," James said.

"Stop it," Jessie told her partner.

"Yeah. That whining only makes you feel even hungrier," Meowth said.

Both groups, with the exception of Misty and Aaron, just stared at Magikarp as it flopped around on the raft.

"Gotta eat something, like filleted carp," Ash said.

"Or fried carp," Brock said.

"Fresh marinated carp," Jessie said.

"Carp flambé," James said.

"That's it! Dinner is now served!" Meowth shouted as he leaped at Magikarp and bit it.

However, this only resulted in extreme pain for Meowth.

"Seriously, don't try that again," Aaron said.

"Yeah. Check your Pokédex, 'cause Magikarp is only scales and bones," Misty added.

"I wish you told me that sooner," Meowth whined.

"Uhh. Not only can this fish not swim, it's not even good for eating," James said.

"See, I told you buying it was stupid," Jessie said.

James then stood up and walked over to Magikarp.

"You good-for-nothing fish! I don't want to be your master!" James yelled at the Magikarp as he kicked it into the ocean. "Good riddance, Magikarp."

"I feel sorry for it," Misty said.

"Me, too," Aaron agreed.

"Huh?" everyone wondered as Magikarp started to glow white and increase in size.

The new creature that was where Magikarp had been was blue in color with a terrifying look on its face.

"What is that?!" James asked.

"Now you've done it! Magikarp has evolved into Gyarados!" Misty answered.

"Gyarados? I miss Magikarp," Jessie said.

Ash just pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Gyarados.

"Gyarados. This Pokémon has a vicious temperament, so use extreme caution. Its fangs can crush stones, and its scales are harder than steel," the machine said.

"I'm James, your master. Obey me," James said to the Gyarados.

But Gyarados only roared and James started to cower in fear.

"Dimwit. If you're the master, don't act like you're scared of it," Jessie said.

"I am scared," James admitted.

"Goldeen! Starmie! Staryu!" Misty called out as she threw three PokéBalls.

"How will you battle it?" Brock asked.

"My strategy is… run away!" Misty yelled as she threw ropes around her three Water-type Pokémon.

Aaron nearly fell over when the raft suddenly started moving. With the exception of himself, everyone was trying their best to get the raft moving and away from Gyarados. Gyarados only gave chase to the group.

"Faster! Faster!" everyone but Aaron said since he just watched the Gyarados chase them.

Gyarados finally stopped giving chase and Aaron turned around to face the group.

"You guys can stop now. It stopped chasing us," Aaron said.

Everyone immediately stopped and turned around to face Gyarados.

"What's it doing?" Ash asked.

"It just evolved. Maybe it's tired out," Brock said.

"We made it!" Jessie and James said together.

"Unless the stories are true," Misty said.

"What are you talking about, Misty?" Ash asked.

"Sailors tell terrible stories about the Gyarados. I think this might be…" Misty started as the clouds started to darken. "It may be Dragon Rage!"

"Dragon Rage?!" everyone by Aaron repeated.

"Come on. It's just one measly Gyarados. I don't see what harm it can really do," Aaron said as he turned to face the others of the group.

"You may think that about one Gyarados, but how about five?" Misty asked.

"Five?" Aaron repeated.

Aaron turned around to see four more Gyarados rise to the surface.

"So what do you say about that, Aaron?" Ash asked.

"I say… RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Aaron shouted.

The five Gyarados had already started to spin around in a circle, making a large tornado of water.

"No one's ever gotten away from Dragon Rage," Misty said.

The tornado of water steadily made its way to the group and pulled them in. Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock held hands to make sure they wouldn't get separated. Jessie, James and Meowth did the same thing.

"Hey, Brock, Misty, Aaron, Pikachu, whatever happens, don't let go!" Ash shouted as everyone had their eyes closed.

Everyone tried to hold on as best they could, but Aaron lost his grip on Brock's hand while Misty lost her grip on Ash's. Aaron could feel his grip slipping from Misty and subconsciously entwined their fingers together as Aaron pull her to him. They weren't paying attention to that moment since they were afraid for their lives that they'd be killed from Gyarados' attack as the tornado sent them to who-knows-where.

* * *

**Me: Son of a... Just when they're ok, they get sucked away elsewhere. Although, to all my readers, I'm going to skip the next episode since the next one is all about the Pokémon of the group and not the trainers. I hope no one minds that the next chapter will suddenly have everyone completely fine and in a city. Please R&R, everyone.**


	14. Tentacool & Tentacruel

**Me: Alright, here we go. Chapter 14.**

**Ash: Hold it!**

**Me: Hm? What's wrong, Ash?**

**Ash: Two things are wrong. The chapter number and the episode title.**

**Brock: You know, Ash is right.**

**Ash: Shouldn't this chapter be "Island Of The Giant Pokémon"?**

**Me: No, it shouldn't. The reason for that is on the previous chapter. But for anyone who didn't read it, I'll say it again. The episode "Island Of The Giant Pokémon" is NOT about the trainers and is instead about Ash's Pokémon. So trying to make a fanfiction chapter out of it would only result in my readers yelling at me for not having Aaron included in it.**

**Misty: AzureKite4 does have a point. I mean, the reviews are saying that Aaron should be in it more.**

**Me: You're actually reading them, Misty?**

**Misty: Only some of them.**

**Ash: Ok, but what about the episode title? Episode 18 is supposed to be "Beauty And The Beach", right?**

**Brock: Again, Ash is right.**

**Me: It may be episode 18 according to the episode list on wikipedia, but the episode "Beauty And The Beach" was only aired twice at all in English before it was banned permanently. So I'm instead going by the episode numbers on the back of the DVD cases.**

**Brock: It was banned? Why?**

**Misty: I think I know. It's because James wore the inflatable chest, right?**

**Me: That's right. So the American government thought it would be wrong for a guy to enter a beauty contest dressed as a girl with an inflatable chest included.**

**Aaron: Wait, beauty contest? Did Misty take part in it?**

**Me: Actually, yes. She did.**

***Misty slightly blushes***

**Misty: It was embarrassing and degrading.**

**Me: Misty even wore a bikini through the whole episode.**

**Brock: Aww. So I wasn't able to see all those gorgeous girls in bikini's.**

**Me: Well, Brock's finally becoming the same old Brock all the Pokémon fans remember.**

**Ash: So let me get this straight. You're not doing any of the banned episodes as fanfic chapters?**

**Me: Right. The reason for this is, aside from Beauty And The Beach, all the banned episodes are still in Japanese only and the subtitles are translated differently from each person that uploads the episode. And another reason why I won't turn the banned episodes into chapters in because then I'd have to watch the Porygon episode and I'm actually scared to watch it because of what happened in Japan when it was first aired and, not surprisingly, it was never aired again after that.**

**Ash: Aww. But that means no one will see me catching my Tauros.**

**Me: Ash, I don't really think many people cared how you got them when they watched the English version, so I don't think it would really matter. Anyway, Aaron, would you give the disclaimer please?**

**Aaron: Sure. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 14: Episode 18: Tentacool & Tentacruel-

"Blue skies," Ash said.

"White clouds," Brock said.

"And sea as far as you can see," Misty said.

"Such a peaceful view," Aaron said.

The four trainers then watched a boat sail away from the island.

"Oh, I wish _that_ ship could take us off this island," Ash said as he and his friends sat at the edge of a dock at Porta Vista, which happens to be the only town on the island.

Ash let out a sigh as he lay back. Pikachu then looked out to the water and spotted something.

"Pika-- chu, chu," Pikachu said, trying to get the attention of the trainers.

"Hm?" Aaron wondered and then looked out at where Pikachu was pointing. "Hey, Misty. Check it out."

"Huh? Oh, look, it's a Horsea. How cute!" Misty said.

"Huh? Where?" Ash asked as he sprang back up and looked over at the small blue Pokémon. "Hey! I'll just get Dexter to tell me about it."

Ash pulled out the red machine from his pocket and pointed it at Horsea.

"Horsea, a Dragon Pokémon. In this unique Pokémon species, thousands of eggs hatch every spring, and then the male raises them himself," the Pokédex said.

"It looks like it's injured," Brock said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he looked back up at the Horsea.

The four trainers saw what looked like a black eye on Horsea's face.

"And there's no Pokémon Center around here," Misty said, then she pulled out a PokéBall. "I know what."

"Horse-e-ea!" Horsea said as it spat out ink onto the water.

The ink formed into two figures. Aaron recognized one of them, but he had a little trouble with the second figure, though it looked very familiar.

"It's saying something," Ash said.

"I think that's a Tentacool," Aaron said.

"How can you tell?" Ash asked.

"Because I have one myself, remember? And the shape of that image is exactly like a Tentacool," Aaron answered.

"But what about the other one?" Brock asked.

"I'm not sure," Aaron said as he folded his arms. "It looks like a Tentacool, but at the same time it doesn't. It looks familiar but I can't put my finger on it."

"Well we have to take care of its wounds first," Misty said. "I'll capture it in my PokéBall."

But before Misty could throw the ball, there was an explosion in the distance. The trainers looked over to see a boat had been blown up.

"Oh, no, the boat!" Brock said.

The four trainers then watched several people jump off the boat before they could be caught in the flames.

"I wonder what's happening," Ash said.

"We gotta act fast," Misty said as she grabbed three of her PokéBalls. "My Water Pokémon can help those people. Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, go!"

"I'll help out, too," Aaron said as he reached for a PokéBall, but then the ink image of the Tentacool entered his mind again. '_Wait. What if Horsea is trying to _warn_ us about Tentacool? I better not use it then. So that leaves me with only one option._'

Aaron reached for a different PokéBall and threw it.

"Help those people out, Fearow!" Aaron called out.

The PokéBall opened up and the Beak Pokémon emerged along side Misty's three Pokémon. The four Pokémon headed for the boat.

"Aaron, why didn't you use Tentacool?" Misty asked.

"Something tells me it would be a very bad idea to do that here," Aaron answered, earning a slow nod from Misty.

"I didn't know you could do that," Ash said, not even paying attention to the fact Aaron and Misty had been talking to each other.

"Don't just stand there, go look for a boat to help them," Misty said.

"Right," both Ash and Brock said.

Aaron and Misty stood there and watched their Pokémon help the sailors while waiting for Ash and Brock to return with a boat. Once Ash and Brock got a boat and returned to where Misty and Aaron were, the two Cerulean trainers jumped in and the four of them went off the pick up the sailors.

"This way. Carry them all to our boat," Misty called out to the four Pokémon.

Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen and Fearow did as they were told and carried the sailors to the four trainers and dropped them off into the boat.

"It's terrible, terrible!" one of the sailors said as the four trainers turned the boat around back towards the harbor after Misty and Aaron recalled their Pokémon.

"He seems like he's paralyzed," Ash said.

"Hey, what happened to you out there?" Brock asked the sailor.

"T-the boss, I've gotta tell the boss what happened," the sailor answered.

Misty just had a worried expression on her face as she turned back to look at the boat that had been destroyed.

"Maybe we can get some answers as to what's happening from this guy's boss," Aaron said.

"Yeah. That should clear a few things up," Brock said.

"And maybe we can help them," Ash said.

Once the boat reached the dock, the four trainers helped the sailors to a building they had pointed out. Once they reached the building, the four trainers set the sailors down to rest before being asked into the boss' room.

"I'm the boss, Nastina," said the old woman. "I understand that you helped to save the men on my ship. Thank you very much."

Nastina just started to laugh and the four men by her side held paper fans around her.

"You're very welcome. I wonder if you could give us a ride to the mainland," Ash said.

"Hmm, you don't think you're gonna get away that fast, do ya?" Nastina asked, causing the four trainers to prepare for some kind of punishment. "Not until you see my new resort."

"Resort?" Ash repeated once the group had relaxed.

"It's not finished, but it'll be spectacular," Nastina said as she turned to look at a model version of her dream resort. "The world's biggest luxury resort."

"Is that it out on the ocean?" Misty asked.

"Yes, that's it. That's Nastina's Paradise, a super luxury hotel. The hotel to end all hotels! It'll have hundreds of luxurious suites surrounded by the world's most beautiful coral reef," Nastina answered. "But only if those Tentacools stop interfering with construction."

"The Tentacool?" Misty repeated.

'_So there is something going on,_' Aaron thought to himself as he put his hand on the PokéBall which contained his own Tentacool. '_I hope it's nothing too serious._'

"I get it, the Tentacool paralyzed your sailors," Brock said.

"Because of those Tentacool, all the tourists have been staying away from here. I don't know why such despicable creatures even exist," Nastina said, causing an angry look to start appearing on the faces of both Misty and Aaron.

"Did you say despicable?" both Misty and Aaron asked Nastina.

"They're disgusting, you can't even eat them, and they're hurting my profits," Nastina said. "I was hoping the four of you might be able to help me take care of my little problem. Do you have the skill to handle a Tentacool Extermination Project?"

"Huh?" all four trainers wondered.

"Of course, I'll pay you well," Nastina said as she motioned her cane to a curtain behind her.

Behind the curtain was a table full of food.

"Whoa!" both Ash and Brock said.

"Hmmph," Misty said as she turned away.

"I'm in complete agreement with you, Misty," Aaron said.

"If you succeed, you'll get world-class, all-you-can-eat luxury dinners for one year, one million dollars in cash, and vouchers for free stays in the hotel," Nastina said.

"Yeah!" Ash said as he ran towards the curtain, but Nastina's servants closed it on him.

"First you have to exterminate the Tentacool," Nastina said. "Every last one. Then I'll pay you the reward."

"That's disgusting!" Misty yelled at Nastina, causing the old woman to flinch.

"If anyone should be "exterminated", it should be you," Aaron said to the old woman.

Both Misty and Aaron walked out the door followed by Ash and Brock. Misty and Aaron just walked as far away from Nastina's building as possible, ignoring Ash and Brock until it got on their nerves.

"Hey, wait up," Ash said.

"What are you two so mad about?" Brock asked.

"Doesn't that old woman make you sick?" Misty asked back.

"Well, she's not really my type, but--" Ash said, but was cut off.

"She wants to destroy the Tentacool you idiot," Aaron said.

"Huh?" both Ash and Brock said.

"And they're all so cute," Misty said.

"My Tentacool would probably be blushing if it was out here right now, Misty," Aaron said. "Anyway, they're also really cool Pokémon."

"Really?" Ash wondered as he pulled out his Pokédex and switched the image over to Tentacool.

"Tentacool, a Jellyfish Pokémon. 99% of its body is made up of water," the Pokédex said.

"Ugly," was Ash's response.

"I guess ugly is in the eye of the beholder," Brock said.

"If Tentacool are attacking humans, then there must be a very good reason for it," Misty said.

"Do you really think so?" Ash asked.

"Of course!" Misty yelled at the boy. "Tentacool are so squishy and nice when you hold them. And they call the pretty red spot on their heads the "ruby of the sea"."

"Who calls it that?" Brock asked.

"I call it that, it's my name for it," Misty said.

"And it's a very suitable name, too. 'Cause at a distance, it does look like a ruby," Aaron said.

"Thanks for agreeing with me, Aaron. You seem to be the only one," Misty said.

"Well I do own a Tentacool myself, remember. And it is my number one favorite Pokémon," Aaron said.

"When you two talk about Water Pokémon, it's like you both get a different personality," Ash said.

"Never underestimate Water-type Pokémon, Ash," Aaron said.

"I don't understand why you can't see their charm. Water Pokémon are so beautiful and have such depth," Misty said and then let out a dreamy sigh. "Like that Horsea we saw. It was a talented artist."

"Art? You mean that ink it spit out of its mouth?" Ash asked.

"Spraying ink is usually a form of self-defense for a Horsea. But it can also be used as a form of communication as well," Aaron said.

"Speaking of Horsea, we should go check if it's doing ok," Misty suggested.

"Right," said the other three trainers.

The four of them continued walking down the street until they reached the spot where they were taking care of Horsea in a small pool.

"Horsea!" Misty called out and waved her hand to the small Pokémon.

"Horsea, hee hee," the Dragon Pokémon said.

"How do you feel? Are you ok?" Misty asked the Water-type Pokémon once the group of trainers walked up to the pool.

"The Super Potion seems to be working," Brock said.

"Thanks goodness," Misty said before giggling as she picked up Horsea and hugged it.

"They're really communicating," Ash said.

"Horse-e-e-ea," the Water-type said.

"Huh? What is it?" Misty asked the Pokémon. "What are you trying to say?"

"Horsea-ea," Horsea said.

"Wait, is it about that Tentacool image Horsea made with its ink?" Aaron wondered.

"Maybe it's trying to tell us something about them, and maybe why that ship sunk," Brock said.

"Is that right, Horsea?" Misty asked, earning a nod from the Water-type Pokémon.

"Citizens of Porta Vista, listen up," Nastina's voice said over some nearby speakers.

"Nastina," Ash said.

"Effective immediately, I am recruiting volunteers to exterminate the Tentacool terrorizing our town," Nastina said over the speakers.

"Exterminate?!" Misty repeated.

"She just won't give up," Aaron growled.

"I will award one million dollars to anyone who can exterminate the Tentacool. Isn't Nastina generous?" Nastina laughed.

"She'll do anything to destroy them," Brock said.

"Anyone who wants money-- I mean, wants to help the development of out town, come to the yacht harbor immediately," Nastina said.

"Ha! She expects to get people to destroy the Tentacool for money? Ridiculous," Misty said.

"Really? Try telling that to them," Aaron said as he pointed towards a crowd of people rushing towards the harbor, and the four trainers happened to be in the way.

Horsea jumped out of Misty's arms in back into the water as the trainers were trampled over by the crowd of people. Once the crowd reached the harbor, a tank rolled into view.

"All right, which one of you is going to win the one million dollar reward?" Nastina asked over a megaphone as she climbed out of the tank.

A rose attached to a suction cup flew through the air and stuck onto the tank's cannon.

"Huh?" Nastina wondered.

A boat in the distance was heading towards the harbor.

"Oh, who is that?" Nastina wondered as she spotted the boat.

"Prepare for trouble," said a female voice familiar to the four trainers.

"Make it double," said a male voice also familiar to the trainers.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie."

"James."

"Teams Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."

""Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right," Meowth said as he jumped in for his usual spot in the motto.

"Hey, they got a lot of spunk," Nastina said.

By this time the four trainers had gotten back up and watched Team Rocket's display.

"That's a new definition of spunk," Ash said.

"Look at that hair," Jessie said as she pointed at Nastina.

"Disaster," James said.

Then both of them were knocked down by a blast from Nastina's tank.

"I don't need your beauty tips," Nastina said. "I need to get rid of Tentacool."

"It's a very distinctive style, just don't shoot," Jessie said as she got back up.

"You mean di-stink-tive," Meowth said.

"Oh, we are terribly sorry," Jessie said.

"Yes, very sorry," James said. "Please, leave your little Tentacool Extermination Project to Team Rocket."

"Heh heh, this crew might just pull it off," Nastina said.

"We sure will, Nastina," Jessie said.

"Sounds good. If you exterminate the Tentacool completely, the million bucks is yours. Isn't Nastina generous?" Nastina laughed as her servants once again held paper fans around her.

"Yes, we heard you the first time," Jessie said.

"Just get the dough ready for us," Meowth said.

Team Rocket then sped off in their boat to do their "job".

"They're disrespecting the ocean," Misty said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he looked at Misty.

"Misty…" Aaron said as he looked at his redheaded friend.

Ash and Aaron then looked back out towards the ocean. Not long after, everyone at the dock saw red lights in the ocean.

"All of those things are Tentacool?" Ash wondered.

Everyone then saw Team Rocket's boat explode and then saw a white light flash soon after.

"No. Don't tell me," Aaron said as he looked on.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ash asked.

"I think one of those Tentacool is evolving," Aaron answered.

Everyone then saw something rise out of the ocean. It was a gigantic Tentacruel.

"What _is_ that?" Ash asked.

"It's a Tentacruel," Brock answered.

"But it's huge. Tentacruel should never be able to reach that size," Aaron said.

Tentacruel then wrapped itself around Nastina's unfinished hotel and tore it down.

"What do you mean?" Brock asked Aaron as everyone but the four trainers ran for cover.

"The largest size a Tentacruel should ever reach is 7 feet. This one has got to be well over 50 feet," Aaron answered.

Ash then pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Tentacruel.

"Tentacruel, a Jellyfish Pokémon. An evolved form of the Tentacool. Its numerous tentacles serve as a powerful weapon. It is known as "the gangster of the sea"," the Pokédex said.

"That must be the gang leader," Ash said.

"Oh, no, Tentacruel's in trouble," Misty said as she noticed Nastina and her servants about to shoot it.

"How dare that thing crush my hotel! Commence fire!" Nastina ordered.

Nastina fired the tank's cannon while her four servants fired rocket launchers at Tentacruel. However, all the shells just bounced off of the giant Pokémon. Tentacruel then looked down at the ones who shot at it.

"Grr, leave my hotel alone!" Nastina yelled.

But before Nastina could fire, an army of Tentacool were walking over her tank and had already knocked out her servants.

"We've gotta try to protect Tentacruel!" Misty said.

"Right!" Aaron said as he reached for the PokéBall which contained his Tentacool.

However, Ash and Brock grabbed both trainers.

"But there's gonna be a tidal wave!" Ash said.

Brock pulled Aaron and Ash pulled Misty so that the four of them could find higher ground. As Tentacruel made its way to the town, everyone started to do the same as the four trainers. Soon the entire town was flooded and the Tentacool, led by Tentacruel, started to destroy the buildings. Tentacruel then lifted a piece of one of the building and threw it towards Nastina's theme park which would've been part of her hotel. The four trainers as well as the rest of the town's inhabitants made it to a tower outside of the town and watched the destruction.

"So this is what that Horsea was trying to warn us about earlier," Brock said.

"I don't understand. Why would they do a thing like this?" Misty wondered. "Now, everyone will be against them."

Aaron just clenched his fists before reaching for one of his PokéBalls. Misty noticed this.

"Aaron, what are you going to do?" Misty asked.

"I'm going to try reasoning with Tentacruel. And they only way to do that is with Tentacool," Aaron answered.

"What? Are you sure Tentacruel will listen?" Misty asked.

"I don't know. But it's the only chance we have," Aaron said before he ran off and headed for the roof of the tower.

Once Aaron got to the tower, he held Tentacool's PokéBall tightly.

'_We're all counting on you, Tentacool,_' Aaron thought to himself as he looked towards where Tentacruel was. '_But I'll need to get closer._'

Aaron then reached for another PokéBall and threw it.

"Let's go, Fearow!" Aaron called out.

The ball opened and released the Beak Pokémon. Aaron then jumped onto Fearow's back.

"All right. Head towards Tentacruel," Aaron told his Pokémon.

Fearow screeched in understanding and flew off with its trainer on its back. Everyone in the tower watched this.

"Has he lost it?" Ash wondered.

"Aaron, please be ok," Misty said quietly to herself.

"We have to help him," Brock said.

"Pikachu, do something," Ash told his Pokémon.

Pikachu then watched as Tentacruel ripped down a building and the little yellow rodents cowered in fear.

"You're right, there's no way you could battle against something that big," Ash said.

Meanwhile, Aaron was close enough to Tentacruel to try his plan. He held up his PokéBall and looked at it.

"We're all counting on you," Aaron said as he gripped the ball tightly before throwing it. "Let's go, Tentacool!"

The PokéBall opened up and Tentacool materialized in the water below.

"Tentacool! Try to reason with Tentacruel and get it to leave!" Aaron told his Jellyfish Pokémon.

Tentacool nodded in agreement and swam towards Tentacruel. But then Aaron noticed that Tentacruel was holding something in its tentacle. Upon closer inspection, Aaron realized it was Meowth.

"What's Tentacruel doing with Meowth?" Aaron wondered.

A Tentacool, not Aaron's, climbed up Tentacruel's tentacle and latched onto Meowth's head.

"We are Tentacool and Tentacruel. Hear us now. Humans have destroyed our ocean home and now we will have our revenge," Meowth said.

"I see. Tentacruel is using Meowth as a translator to speak for it," Aaron said.

"Now, we will begin to destroy your world, your home, as you have so cruelly tried to destroy ours," Meowth said. "And not one of you has the right to complain about it."

"Their home was destroyed? Ah! Nastina's hotel! The coral reef must have been their home and Nastina ended up destroying some of it for her hotel. They weren't hurting people for no reason. They did it for revenge and to protect what amount of home they had left," Aaron realized. "So that had to be what Horsea was trying to say. And I think Misty's feeling the same way right now. And we call ourselves Water Pokémon trainers."

Aaron then noticed Tentacruel launch one of its tentacles at the tower.

"No! Misty! Ash! Brock!" Aaron shouted. "Fearow, let's go. We have to make sure they're ok."

"Fear!" Fearow screeched and flew back towards the tower at full speed.

'_Sorry, Tentacool. But I know you can take care of yourself. Just try your best to reason with Tentacruel,_' Aaron thought to himself.

Aaron's Tentacool was wandering around, trying to find a good spot to make itself seen by Tentacruel, but not be crowded by other Tentacools. It then spotted the Horsea that Misty had helped earlier and went up to it. Horsea was about to swim away when Tentacool explained it wasn't a wild one but instead belonged to the brown-haired trainer. Horsea understood and both Pokémon decided to work together to stop Tentacruel. Both Pokémon called up to Tentacruel, causing the giant Pokémon towards them.

"It's too late, Horsea. No matter what you think, we cannot turn away. We must teach humans the pain of having homes destroyed," Meowth said, but then Tentacruel noticed Aaron's Tentacool. "What do you think you are doing, Tentacool?"

Tentacool tried to explain that it wasn't one of the Tentacool that was with Tentacruel, but all the same wanted Tentacruel to stop.

"You dare to turn on your brethren and side with the humans?" Meowth said, only to get a response from Tentacool that it had been with the humans for more than 6 years. "You cannot be trusted, Tentacool. You have been controlled by the humans for too long."

Horsea then spoke up again.

"A spineless attitude like yours will only allow human to be more cruel and inconsiderate in the future," Meowth said, but Horsea argued back. "So you say we're the spineless ones? For that you must be punished!"

Tentacruel then slammed one of its tentacles down towards Horsea and sent the Dragon Pokémon flying. Misty noticed this from in the tower.

"Horsea!" Misty called out.

Aaron heard this on his way back to the tower and looked back to see Horsea airborne.

"Fearow, grab it!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

Fearow turned around again and grabbed Horsea with its talons. The Beak Pokémon then headed back towards the tower along with Aaron and Horsea. Fearow then dropped Horsea into Misty's arms.

"Oh, Horsea," Misty said as she hugged the Water-type. "Thanks, Aaron."

"Sure thing. But it doesn't seem like Tentacruel will listen," Aaron said, then heard something below.

Aaron looked down as saw his Tentacool had swam to the tower.

"Return, Tentacool!" Aaron said as he recalled his Jellyfish Pokémon.

"I'm sorry, Horsea," Misty said. "You got beaten up, and you did it all for us humans. Thank you."

Pikachu then jumped onto Ash's head and seemed pumped up.

"You wanna try your luck?" Ash said while Pikachu nodded in agreement. "All right, full power attack, now!"

Ash then released four of his PokéBalls, calling out Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Butterfree and Pidgeotto. Aaron jumped down from Fearow and landed next to Misty.

"You ready to give it a try, Fearow?" Aaron asked his Pokémon, earning a screech in agreement. "All right. Let's go, Oddish!"

Aaron threw his third PokéBall and released Oddish as it stood on Fearow's back.

"Fearow, take care of Oddish," Aaron said as he took a quick glance towards Misty.

Fearow screeched in understanding.

"Starmie, Staryu, and Goldeen!" Misty called out as she threw her own PokéBalls.

"Get ready, Zubat!" Brock called out as he threw his PokéBall.

Aaron then held out his last PokéBall.

"Forgive me, my friend. I know you've already tried your luck, but now we need your help with getting the rest out of here," Aaron said as he threw his PokéBall. "Let's go, Tentacool!"

Aaron's PokéBall opened and released the Jellyfish Pokémon. All 12 Pokémon made their way towards Tentacruel and the Tentacools with Pikachu on Pidgeotto's back, Oddish on Fearow's back, Zubat carrying Squirtle, and Butterfree carrying Bulbasaur.

"Hey, Pikachu, don't let the Tentacool get any closer to us!" Ash called out. "Send them back to the sea!"

"But be careful not to hit mine!" Aaron warned.

All 12 Pokémon worked together to push or throw all the Tentacool, except Aaron's back into the ocean. Aaron and Misty then looked at each other and nodded, knowing what they had to do and they left the tower.

"We're the only ones here who can understand Water Pokémon. So we have to work together to get Tentacruel to leave," Aaron said.

"Right. And I know we can do it if we work together," Misty said.

"You are all Pokémon. Why are you battle to save the destructive humans?" Meowth asked while still under Tentacruel's control.

Tentacruel then swung its tentacle and hit all the trainers' Pokémon. While all this was happening, Misty and Aaron climbed up the ladder of one of the buildings. Luckily, Tentacruel didn't spot them.

"Though you are Pokémon, if you take the humans' side you are our enemy," Meowth said.

"Stop this now, Tentacruel!" Aaron shouted.

"Please, you have to stop!" Misty yelled.

Everyone then turned their attention to the two Cerulean trainers who were standing on top of one of the building so they could speak with Tentacruel face-to-face.

"Please, take them all back to the ocean," Misty requested. "Please listen, Tentacruel. This is enough."

"She's right. All of us humans understand what we've done and we're sorry we hurt you," Aaron said.

Tentacruel then looked down and saw all the townspeople hiding and bracing themselves for another attack by the giant Pokémon.

"We won't destroy your homes anymore," Misty said. "We're sorry. So please…"

Tentacruel just stared at the two Cerulean trainers for what seemed like hours until it finally raised the tentacle that held Meowth.

"If this happens again, we will not stop. Remember this well," Meowth said before Tentacruel threw it away.

Everyone just watched as Tentacruel and all the Tentacool made their way back to the ocean.

"You think you can get away that easy, do ya?" Nastina shouted after climbing out of some rubble. "Take this!"

Nastina then fired the rocket launcher she picked up at the giant Tentacruel. The shell hit Tentacruel and just bounced off, but Tentacruel turned around to face the old woman.

"I'll capture ya, throw ya in a tank and charge admission," Nastina said as she threw away the rocket launcher and grabbed two machine guns and started firing. "Eat lead, squidly! Come on, you big jellyfish, I'll show you-- Oww!"

Nastina was hit in the face by ink.

"That overgrown squirt!" Nastina said.

"What's wrong with you, Nastina?" Misty asked the old woman as she held Horsea in her arms. "Don't you understand? What you're trying to do is wrong for everybody because it hurts Pokémon and humans."

"You stuck-up little brat!" Nastina said, but then noticed a shadow above her. "Huh?"

Nastina turned around and saw Tentacruel looming over her.

"I wonder what Tentacruel's up to," Aaron said.

"Well, Tentacruel, glad to see you're wising up and coming over to my way of thinking," Nastina laughed. "Now, why don't you and me go into business together?"

Tentacruel's response was hitting the old woman with one of its tentacles and sending her flying. Misty just stuck out her tongue as she watched Nastina disappeared as Aaron just chuckled. The two of them then turned around to watch Tentacruel disappear into the sea.

"Good-bye, Tentacruel. We'll remember," Misty said.

"We'll be sure of it," Aaron added.

Once Aaron and Misty got down from the building, the four trainers return their Pokémon to the PokéBalls. Then they caught the next ferry and just watched Porta Vista slowly disappear over the horizon.

"It's kind of weird, but Tentacruel turn out to be ok," Brock said.

"You're right," Ash agreed. "So, Misty, you still think Jellyfish Pokémon are cute?"

"Sure do," Misty answered, earning sounds of disgust from Ash and Brock. "But right now, Horsea is the cutest Pokémon of all."

Misty held out a PokéBall and threw it into the air.

"Come on, Horsea!" Misty said as she threw the ball into the air.

Horsea materialized from within the ball and landed in Misty's arms.

"Horsea! You're my Pokémon!" Misty said as she struck a "V for Victory" pose.

"Wait a minute, that's supposed to be my pose," Ash said.

"I know, but I've always wanted to try it out for myself," Misty said.

"That's a good idea. Next time I'll try it," Brock said.

"Oh, why don't you guys just think of your own poses, ok?" Ash yelled at Brock.

"You should be flattered that people want to try out your pose," Brock said.

"That's right, so don't be so greedy," Misty said.

"What?!" Ash yelled.

Aaron just laughed at the scene and then looked back towards Porta Vista. He then pulled out his PokéBall which held his Tentacool and looked at it.

'_I wonder when you'll evolve, my friend. Guess we'll just have to wait to find out,_' Aaron thought to himself as he smiled and then turned around to face his friends who were still arguing about the poses.

* * *

**Me: So there's the chapter. Who'd you all like it?**

**Misty: Aaron, I thought I told you not to be so reckless! If you got any closer, Tentacruel could've killed you!**

**Aaron: I know, I know. And I kept my distance. But at least I'm not hurt and we were able to stop Tentacruel before any irreparable damage could be done.**

**Misty: I guess you're right.**

**Me: Well, I guess there isn't much for the five of us to say after this chapter. So please R&R, everyone!**


	15. The Ghost Of Maiden's Peak

**Me: Alright, here we go. Chapter 15 at last.**

**Ash: Why did this one take so much longer than the other?**

***Misty, Aaron and Brock also had a questioning look on their faces***

**Me: To tell the truth, I was a bit lazy.**

***the four trainers sweatdropped***

**Me: But the other reason was that the site wasn't letting me put this chapter into the Document Manager. So I kept trying until it finally let me.**

**Aaron: Well that kinda sucks.**

**Misty: We were actually worried you'd forgotten us or something bad had happened.**

**Me: Thanks, Misty. But I could never forget you guys. Pokémon was the first anime I saw, so you guys are the most memorable to me. And also, I can asure the four of you, nothing bad will happen to me.**

**Brock: That's good news. Now then, shall we get this chapter started?**

**Me: Of course. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 15: Episode 19: The Ghost Of Maiden's Peak-

It had been a while since leaving Porta Vista and Ash, Misty, Aaron and Brock were enjoying a little time on the ferry when Misty spotted something in the distance.

"Hey! Look over there," Misty said to her friends.

Ash, Aaron and Brock walked over next to Misty to see what she was looking at.

"Is that Maiden's Peak?" Aaron wondered.

"Cool! That's where we get off," Ash said. "We'll be landing soon."

"Oh, it wouldn't matter to me if I ever saw land again," Brock started to sulk. "I just wasted another summer."

"But we had a whole summer of adventures," Ash pointed out.

"For kids, summer means playing on the beach, splashing around and having fun, but for me…" Brock started.

"I think I know where this is going," Aaron said.

"Summer means bathing suits and girls to wear them!" Brock said before falling to his hands and knees to continue sulking. "Now bikini season's over, and I'll have to wait another year to meet a girl!"

As Ash, Misty and Aaron try to cheer Brock up, the ferry finally reached port.

"Maiden's Peak welcomes the passengers arriving from Porta Vista," someone said over the P.A. "We invite you all to attend our annual Summer's End Festival, now in progress."

"Cool! A festival!" Ash said as the four trainers walked off the ferry.

"It look like fun," Misty said. "Let's check it out."

"Yeah. It'll be a great time to just relax and have fun for once, considering what we've been through," Aaron said.

"I'll ride the ferris wheel all alone," Brock said, still sulking, but then he turned to look down another dock and something had caught his eye. "Huh? Who's that?"

"What's up, Brock?" Aaron asked the oldest trainer of the group.

"Whoa! What a knockout!" Brock said, but was then trampled over by tourists.

"I wonder what that was about," Aaron said and then looked up where Brock had been looking to, briefly, see an image of a girl turn into what seemed like a ball of gas and then vanish. "What the?"

Aaron rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but when he looked back at the other dock, there was nothing there.

"That was strange," Aaron said to himself.

"Hey, she's gone," Brock said after recovering a bit.

"Cheer up, Brock," Ash said. "We're at a festival."

"Yeah! Let's have some fun!" Misty said.

Both Ash and Misty picked up Brock and carried him off as Aaron just shrugged off what he thought he saw and followed after his friends. It was nothing but fun for the trainers, with the exception of Brock, as they went around the festival enjoying all the rides and games.

"She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Brock sulked.

"Huh?" the other three trainers wondered.

"Hey, you there!" a voice called out to the four trainers.

"Are you the--" Brock started, but cut himself off as he saw a small old woman and the spiky-haired trainer fell backwards to the ground. "You're not that beautiful--"

"Who's not beautiful?" the old woman asked.

The woman then took out a magnifying glass and seemed to be examining Brock.

"Beware! Not of an old beauty like me, but a beautiful young woman, or you'll meet a cruel fate," the old woman warned.

"Ah! That girl on the rock. I have to meet her," brock said.

"I must be the beautiful girl she's talking about, but I'd never hurt Brock," Misty said.

"I was talking about an elegant young woman, not some scrawny little blabber mouth like you," the old woman said.

"Scrawny?!" Misty repeated.

"Real scrawny!" Ash said, only to get punched in the head by Misty.

"You deserved that one," Aaron said to Ash.

"That's it! I don't have to stand around here and be insulted! Let's get outta here," Misty said as she grabbed Ash and Brock and dragged them away with Aaron walking right behind her.

"The beautiful woman-- a cruel fate, the cruelest fate would be never to see her again," Brock said as he was being dragged by the infuriated redhead.

'_I wonder. Could the girl Brock's going on about be that image I saw on the dock? But then, what was it I saw after that?_' Aaron thought to himself.

Once Brock recovered from sulking, Ash recovered from his beating, and Misty calmed down from the "scrawny" comments, the four trainers decided to have a look around until they spotted some kind of history speech at a nearby shrine.

"Want to check it out?" Aaron asked his friends.

"Sure. Looks interesting," Misty said.

"What could be so interesting about some guy talking about the past?" Ash asked.

Brock didn't give an answer, but either way Ash had been outvoted and the four trainers walked towards the shrine.

"Welcome! To celebrate the Summer's End Festival, we will now display the shrine of the maiden's greatest treasure. For 2,000 years, this painting has hung within the shrine of the maiden. Once each year, it is removed from the shrine and displayed to the public during this festival. As I unveil the painting, please gaze with reverence," the old priest said as he pulled the cover off the painting next to him.

"Wow!" every exclaimed as they saw the painting.

It was of a beautiful young woman, but she appeared to be very sad by the expression on her face.

"But… it can't be," Brock said.

"Hm?" Aaron wondered as he looked over at Brock and then back to the painting. '_The girl in that picture looks vaguely familiar._'

Brock slowly moved closer to the painting, but so did James from Team Rocket. Ash, Misty and Aaron wondered what Team Rocket would be doing at a festival like this, be decided against speaking up in case they caused a disturbance.

"She's so incredibly beautiful," Brock said as he gazed at the painting.

"She's the girl of my dreams," James said as he followed after Brock. "Don't wake me up."

But before the two of them could get any closer to the painting, the priest pushed them back.

"Stay back!" the priest said. "The woman in this painting perished over 2,000 years ago."

"2,000 years?" Brock repeated.

"She was in love with a brave and handsome young man. But he left her and sailed away to fight in a war. And she waited for a very long time, hoping to see his ship on the horizon. But her true love never returned to that place again. Still, she waited and waited, never moving from that spot, until, finally, her body was turned into stone, just like the cliff upon which she stood," the priest said, telling the story behind the painting. "To this day she waits for her love to return."

"Just tell me. Where's this rock?" Brock asked.

"Maiden's Rock is not far from this shrine," the priest said before pointing the way to the cliff.

As the four trainers, and Team Rocket unknown to them, made their way to the cliff, Misty started thinking about the story the priest told.

"That was kind of a sad story," Misty said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"She just stayed there and waited for the man she loved to come back. Even when he didn't return she still waited," Misty said.

"She must have been very faithful to him," Aaron said.

"Huh? Faithful?" Ash repeated.

"You'll probably understand it better when you're older, Ash," Aaron said.

Brock didn't say a word as he walked ahead of the group, focused on reaching Maiden's Rock. The sun was just starting to set by the time they reached the top of the cliff. Brock then stood by the railing and stared at the rock.

"So that's Maiden Rock. It's the most beautiful rock I've ever seen," Brock said.

"Brock? You feeling ok?" Aaron asked.

"If she were my girlfriend, I'd make sure she was never out of my sight," Brock said as he tried to get closer to the rock, but almost fell over the railing.

Ash, Misty and Aaron had to grab Brock and pull him back just to keep him from going over the side of the cliff.

"Get a hold of yourself, Brock," Misty said.

The three trainers finally pulled Brock back down and away from the railing. Seeing as he couldn't do anything else, the squinty-eyed trainer just sat on the ground and stared at the rock.

"No matter how long you wait here, a rock is a rock, Brock," Ash said.

"Yeah. Let's go back to the festival," Misty said. "This is boring."

"Why don't you three go back? I wanna stay here a little bit longer," Brock said.

"If you're sure, Brock," Aaron said.

"You remember where we're staying tonight, right?" Ash asked.

"The Pokémon Center near the port. I'll make it back by curfew," Brock said. "Don't worry about me. I'll be ok."

"Guess we have no choice since he's not going to be moving. Let's go," Aaron said.

"Alright," Misty agreed.

"Sure," Ash said.

The three trainers looked at Brock once more before they left for the Pokémon center. Once they reached the building, the three trainers decided to get a little something to eat while they waited for Brock. It seemed like hours passed and Brock still hadn't shown up. The clock on the wall then chimed.

"11:00! Curfew time! Curfew time! Curfew time!" the mechanized Pidgey said from the clock.

"I'm really getting worried," Misty said, then looked towards the doors. "Brock still isn't back yet."

"It's definitely odd. Brock's never ditched us before," Aaron said.

Ash and Pikachu just looked at each other, wondering what the eldest trainer was up to. Then the group heard a motor running as the doors and windows were being covered by a metal-like plating.

"Wait! I'll go out and look for him!" Ash said as he stood up, but felt someone's hand pushing him back down from his shoulder.

"Hold it!" said the Nurse Joy. "Don't you realize it's your bedtime?"

"Yes, but--" Ash tried to say, but Nurse Joy wouldn't hear the boy's excuse.

"Staying up late is bad for your skin, and it makes you irritable, and it ruins your appetite. I won't allow it. Now, go to bed this instant!" Nurse Joy ordered, sounding much like a mother.

"There's nothing we can do, Ash. We'll go look for him tomorrow," Aaron said while Misty nodded in agreement.

"All right," Ash said, defeated.

The three trainers went to their rented room, which had two bunkbeds. Ash slept in the bottom of one of them while Aaron slept in the bottom of the other while Misty slept in the top bunk surprisingly above Aaron. While Ash and Misty fell asleep quickly, Aaron was still up.

'_Something strange is going on. I can feel it. I'm sure it has to do with that figure I saw at the dock earlier today,_' Aaron thought to himself. '_I hope Brock's ok._'

Aaron then turned over and fell asleep. The following morning, the three trainers quickly got up, had something to eat, and went back to look for Brock. The only problem was, he was no longer there.

"Brock!" Ash called out.

"Brock, where are you?!" Misty shouted.

"Hey, Brock! Where'd you go?! This is no time to be messing around!" Aaron called out.

The three trainers kept looking around the area for their friend, but then bumped into Jessie.

"Oh!" Jessie said.

"You again!" Ash said.

"Yuck!" Jessie said.

"Double yuck!" Ash said.

"I finally found you," Jessie said, but then replayed it in her mind. "Wait a minute! You're not the one I was looking for."

"Hey, you're looking for somebody, too?" Ash asked.

"Speaking of which, where's James? Isn't he usually with you guys?" Aaron asked Jessie and Meowth.

"Ahem. Prepare for trouble and make it double," Jessie said, deepening her voice for what would usually be James' line, though she went back to her normal voice. "Doing this by myself is a real drag."

Jessie then just decided to continue the motto, deepening her voice for all of James' lines.

"To protect the world from devastation, to unite all peoples within our nation, to denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie said, but then someone else spoke up.

"To extend our reach to the stars above," said a voice which sounded a lot like James', but it was a bit muffled.

"Jessie?" Jessie said, confused from the voice that spoke up.

"James!"

"Uh, Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie said as herself, Meowth, Ash, Misty and Aaron looked around for the source of James' voice.

"Surrender now," the voice said, to which everyone else looked at the small shrine-like building they were standing in front of, while James appeared to have been thrown out the doors. "Or prepare to fi-i-ight!"

James then landed on the ground.

"Oh, he looks awful!" Jessie said.

"Worse than usual," Meowth added.

Brock came flying out not long after.

"Brock, what happened?" Ash asked.

However, both Brock and James appeared to have big smiles on their faces and neither of them answered.

"Pull yourself together," Ash told his friend as he tried to pick Brock up.

James then got up and clung onto Jessie's leg.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jessie screeched as she started to shake the life out of James.

"So everything turned out just as I predicted," the two groups heard someone say.

Everyone, with the exception of Brock and James, turned to see the old woman that had warned Brock about the girl yesterday.

"It's the old woman," Ash said.

"Obviously, these two have both seen the ghost of the maiden," the old woman said.

"Ghost of the maiden?" everyone but James and Brock repeated.

"I love her. I love her…" James said, and continued to repeat those words over and over again.

"Me, too. Me, too," Brock said, repeating his words at the same time James was.

Then the two dazed humans hugged each other, but didn't even seem aware of it.

"They're possessed!" Ash said, then turned to face Pikachu. "Pikachu!"

The little yellow rodent knew exactly what to do as it released a blast of electricity at the dazed humans. Brock and James instantly fell over and both slowly got back up.

"Uh… who am I? I am Brock," the squinty-eyed trainer said to himself before nodding.

"Brock's back!" Ash said.

"That's good. And good idea with Pikachu. That scene was getting a little disturbing," Aaron said.

"I'm James from Team Rocket," James said, but then seemed to propel himself off the ground and spin around.

"He's back," Jessie sighed.

"But not to normal," Meowth added.

The old woman then led the two groups into the small shrine to tell the story behind the curse.

"All men who pass this way fall under her spell. It's always the same story over and over. We find them here, acting like zombies, with the life sucked out of them, babbling like idiots," the old woman said. "It's the work of that maiden's ghost, still waiting for her young soldier to return. Just as I warned you."

"So what? Who cares, as long as I can be with her," Brock said as Ash waved his hand in the trainer's face.

"Oh! He isn't cured!" Ash said.

"But wait, then why wasn't Aaron possessed?" Misty wondered.

"Are you hoping I was, Misty?" Aaron asked, giving his red-haired friend a blank stare.

"No, it's not that. But you're 15, so you're not a kid. I'm just wondering why you weren't affected like Brock was," Misty said.

"I think it might be because I didn't get a good look at her," Aaron said as he crossed his arms and started to think.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"Yesterday when we were at the docks. Remember when Brock was trampled by all those people?" Aaron asked, earning a nod from Ash and Misty. "He seemed to have saw something. I looked where he was looking and saw a faint image of a person before it disappeared."

"Then you're a lucky one. If you had seen her before then, you would be under the same spell," the old woman said.

"I'm scared! You've got to do something! " James cried out as he seemed to be at the breaking point before panicking.

"There is only one thing I can do," the old woman said, getting the attention of the others as she held up talismans before pinning one each on Brock's and James' foreheads. "We have stickers. These are anti-ghost stickers. Uh, however--"

"What's the catch?" Ash asked.

"I can't just give these stickers away for free," the old woman said as she pulled out a cash register, causing Ash to fall over anime-style.

"Oh, well, if it's the only thing that'll help…" Ash said as he, Aaron and Misty started putting up the talismans up on the outside of the small building.

"We'll stick stickers all over the place," Misty said, finishing Ash's sentence.

The three trainers kept putting stickers up for the rest of the day while Jessie, Meowth and Pikachu put stickers on James and Brock. Upon nightfall, the two groups stayed inside the shine and waited for the maiden's ghost to appear again.

"Will she come?" Jessie asked as she, Meowth, Ash, Misty, Aaron and Pikachu stayed hidden.

"Oh, she'll come," Meowth said with certainty.

"This better work," Ash said.

"Let's hope," Misty said.

"Otherwise this would've been a complete waste," Aaron said.

A strong gust of wind picked up from outside as everyone could hear the stickers being torn off from the outside.

"She's here!" the old woman exclaimed as the doors blasted open from the wind and a ghostly figure of a young woman stood in the entranceway.

"It's you," Brock said to the transparent figure as he stood up.

"I've been waiting for you," the woman said.

"Yes, and I've been waiting, too," Brock said.

"I scared, really, really, scared!" James cried.

"I wanted to meet you.," the woman said.

"And I, you," Brock said.

Brock suddenly floated of the ground as the ghostly woman disappeared around the building. Brock floated after her while James clutched onto the railing for his dear life.

"Brock!" Ash yelled after his friend as he, Misty and Aaron chased after him.

"Grab him!" Aaron shouted once the three trainers were outside.

Ash, Misty and Aaron grabbed Brock's legs and tried to pull him back down.

"Hey, let me go!" Brock shouted.

The three trainers managed to pull Brock back down, but then they saw James flying towards the ghost.

"I don't wanna go!" James cried.

Then a shot was fired and a hole appeared in the transparent woman, causing James to fall into the ocean below.

"Hey, girl, you can't take him!" Jessie said to the ghost. "You haven't got a ghost of a chance!"

Everyone then heard someone climbing up the cliff as fast as they could only to see James grab the railings and poke his head up.

"You really do care," James said to Jessie.

"It's not 'cause of you," Jessie said as she threw her bazooka aside. "Girls like her disgust me, always waiting around for her man as if she were his faithful pet. She can't stand the thought of losing him. She cries, but I'd say, "see ya later! There are plenty more fish in the sea"."

"I could sure go for some fish," Meowth said.

"I've been waiting. You cannot interfere," the ghost said.

The woman's hair then began to flow around her as transparent skulls appeared and started flying around the group.

"What is that?" Misty asked.

"Not any Pokémon I know," Ash said as he pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the skulls.

"No Pokémon entry found," the red machine said.

"They're not Pokémon?" Ash started to panic.

The skulls continued to fly around the group, getting closer and closer.

"Back off, specters! You can't scare us that easily!" Aaron shouted.

"Speak for yourself," Misty said, fear in her voice.

Then one of the skulls flew up behind her and she turned around to see it, causing her to scream and jump on Aaron, holding him for fear of her life. Ash backed away and moved his hand holding the Pokédex.

"Still searching," the Pokédex said.

"Huh?" both Ash and Aaron wondered.

Ash then started pointing the Pokédex in every direction.

"Ash, try there!" Aaron said as he pointed at the ghostly woman.

Ash did as told and pointed the Pokédex at the maiden's ghost.

"Pokémon entry found. Gastly, a Ghost Pokémon. It is usually invisible. Its specialty is Hypnosis," the Pokédex said.

"Gastly?" Aaron repeated.

"You're really a Pokémon?" Ash asked the maiden.

""So you finally figured it out. Sometimes I'm the ghost of the 2,000-year-old maiden," the woman said as a few skulls flew past her and she disappeared while the old woman appeared in her place. "And sometimes I'm the mysterious old woman. But no matter the disguise, I'll always be…"

The old woman then seemed to disappear in smoke as it flew past the group of trainers and Team Rocket members as a floating black all with eyes and a mouth surrounded in purple gas appeared.

"Awfully Gastly," the Pokémon said.

"Well, Gastly, time for a battle," Ash challenged. "Pikachu!"

"My hypnotic powers can work on other Pokémon, too, including little rodents," Gastly said.

Pikachu just looked confused at the Gas Pokémon.

"Stop a rodent…" Gastly started as it changed itself into a giant mousetrap. "With a mousetrap."

The mousetrap then started to chase after Pikachu as the Mouse Pokémon tried to run away.

"Mousetrap won't hurt Meowth!" Meowth shouted as he charged forward.

"So, Meowth, you want to play games with me? Here's a cat toy I think you'll enjoy," Gastly said as a ball of yarn appeared in front of the charging Scratch Cat Pokémon, causing Meowth to stop and start cuddling with the ball of yarn.

"Go, Ekans!" Jessie called out as she threw a PokéBall, revealing the Snake Pokémon.

"A snake's natural enemy is a mongoose!" Gastly shouted as he changed into a giant mongoose which Ekans had wrapped itself around. "Dinnertime."

Ekans then let go and ran for it.

"Your turn," Jessie said as she hit James' hand.

"Koffing, Poison Gas attack," James said as Koffing let itself out of its PokéBall.

Koffing flew towards the transformed Gastly and started expelling smoke from its body, but the mongoose stepped on Koffing and kept it held down.

"Smoking is prohibited," Gastly said as he, while still turned into a mongoose, was now wearing a gas mask.

"My turn now!" Ash said as he threw a PokéBall. "Charmander, I choose you!"

The PokéBall opened to reveal the Lizard Pokémon.

"Well, now, here's something for you…" Gastly said as it changed into a fire extinguisher. "Squirt!"

Charmander just ran away as the fire extinguisher threatened to put out the fire on its tail.

"Now who shall I defeat?" Gastly asked as it returned to its normal self.

"Looks like I'm next," Aaron said as he grabbed a PokéBall from his belt. "Let's go, Oddish!"

The ball opened, letting the small Weed Pokémon out from the confines of its ball.

"Look like it's time for a little yard work," Gastly said as he turned into a giant lawnmower and chased Oddish around.

"No! Oddish, return!" Aaron called back his Pokémon, returning the small Grass-type to its PokéBall. "Darn it. Nothing seems to work."

Ash then grabbed two PokéBalls and Aaron noticed this, but held lifted his arm to stop the trainer.

"Don't, Ash. Gastly has us beat. No matter who you choose, he's going to come up with something," Aaron said.

Ash just growled as he slowly put his PokéBals away.

"Then how about this!" Misty said as she held up a gold cross.

"What's that?" Gastly asked.

"It's a cross," Misty said, then started pulling out a few more things. "But I've also got… garlic, a stake, and a hammer."

"You watch way too many vampire movies, Misty," Aaron sweatdropped.

"I'm a ghost, not a vampire," Gastly sweatdropped.

But then everyone heard the gong of a bell in the distance.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he saw Gastly appeared to be hurt.

"Is it in pain?" Aaron wondered.

"I may not be a vampire, but I hate sunlight. It's time for me to go until the next festival. Don't forget the ghost of the maiden. She and the old lady will return next year, too!" Gastly said as he disappeared while the sun slowly rose over the horizon.

"That _was_ ghastly," Misty said.

"I'll say," James said.

"Hey, look, the sun!" Meowth pointed as the yellow ball became visible over the ocean.

The rest of the day passed by as the two groups called another temporary truce and headed back into town. The four trainers then decided to take part in a few more events for the end of the festival, one of which included sending small boats carrying candles on them across the ocean.

"At the end of every summer, the visitors send out these tiny boats, each one with a candle to help light the way for any wandering spirits who can't find their way back home," the Officer Jenny of the town explained as Brock stood next to her while Ash, Misty and Aaron set off one boat each.

After everyone had released a boat, the four trainers decided to join in for one more event for the closing of the festival which included dancing. Jessie, James and Meowth helped out with playing instruments while the four trainers joined in the dancing. Well, all but one. Aaron was leaning against the railing and looking up at the sky.

"Gastly, huh? Interesting," Aaron said to himself.

"Hey, there you are," a voice said to Aaron.

The brown-haired boy looked down and he couldn't believe his eyes. Misty was standing in front of him, but she looked completely different. She was wearing a pink kimono and, for the first time since he'd met her all those years ago, Misty had her hair down which stopped just above her shoulders.

'_Is that… really Misty? She looks so…_' Aaron thought to himself, but then mentally kicked himself for thinking something like that of his best friend.

Misty just looked at Aaron oddly as the boy stared at her, but then she shrugged it off and grabbed his hand.

"Come on, Aaron. Let's join in," Misty said.

"Uh, all right then," Aaron said.

Misty then pulled Aaron to join the other two trainers and the other people in the dancing.

* * *

**Me: And that's the chapter. What did you all think?**

***Aaron's face turns slightly red as he took a quick glance at Misty***

**Me: Uh oh. I think I went too far here.**

**Misty: What are you talking about?**

**Me: Well, truth be told, you looked very cute with your hair down, Misty. I thought that much when I first saw this episode years ago.**

**Misty: *slightly blushing* Th-thank you, AzureKite4.**

**Ash: Hey, isn't there a rule against flirting with the characters of your own story?**

**Me: No, there isn't. And I'm not flirting with her. Sure, if I was a few years younger I would, but Misty's too young.**

**Brock: *sigh* I do wish I could've met that maiden before she turned to stone.**

***everyone looks at Brock***

**Me: Leave it to a Rock-type trainer to fall in love with a rock. Oh, and Aaron. I think I have an idea for the next Pokémon you'll catch.**

**Aaron: Really? What is it?**

**Me: I'm not gonna spoil it. But if any of my readers figure it out, they're free to comment on it.**

**Aaron: Alright then.**

**Me: *sigh* Although, I think I may have to do something drastic.**

**all four: What?**

**Me: Well, I only have two people that I know for sure are reading my fanfic. They leave reviews on just about every chapter. So I'm going to give them my thanks. The Duelist of Dawn. Nellabelle. Thank you two very much for your reviews.**

**Aaron: But what's this "something drastic" you plan on doing.**

**Me: *regretful sigh* I'm going to have to set myself a rule not to upload chapters unless I have 4 reviews for every chapter. So that means however many chapters I have, I need 4 times as many reviews in total.**

**Ash: I don't think you need to go that far.**

**Me: But it's the only way to know if people are reading. I'm happy with uploading the chapters and it's fun to re-write the series a bit, but if people aren't reading them, it's not as enjoyable.**

**Brock: True. Writer do make better work when people read more and review about it.**

**Me: Right. And that way I can try and re-write the story better and find more ways to have Aaron in. Any suggestions would be grateful.**

**Misty: Now I guess there's only one thing left to do.**

**Everyone: Please R&R, everybody.**


	16. Abra And The Psychic Showdown

**Ash: Hey, what's going on?**

***stays silent***

**Aaron: AzureKite4? What's wrong?**

**Me: Screw it.**

**all four: Huh?**

**Me: I don't give a damn about the reviews anymore. I don't care who reads this story or not. If anyone does or wants to, good for them. I'm going to continue writing because I set myself to do so. Nothing's going to stop me. Not even a lack of reviews.**

**Misty: Whoa. What's gotten into you lately?**

**Me: I just finally realized that writing stories is never about the reviews. It's about actually writing them. Sure, criticism is good, but it shouldn't matter how much you get.**

**Brock: That's the sprit.**

**Me: Besides, I've got another fanfic going and it's doing really well for an original.**

**Ash: You got another one?**

**Me: Yep. It's still a Pokémon one, but it's completely different.**

**Aaron: What's it about?**

**Me: It's just something I came up with from re-reading this fanfic.**

**Misty: You didn't rip anyone off, did you?**

**Me: No.**

***Misty glares at me***

**Me: Ok, I did a little bit.**

**Misty: Thought so. What did you rip off?**

**Me: Just the fact that the two main characters use only Water-type Pokémon. There's someone on YouTube who had a video fanfic series in which he hacked Pokémon games. His series was called "Water Pokémon Legend", or "WPL" for short, and his account name is TrainerDor. He does really good work. But anyway, aside from that, the story is completely my own.**

**Aaron: That sounds cool.**

**Me: Although, I kinda based the characters off of you two, Misty and Aaron.**

**Both: Huh? How so?**

**Me: Well, the male character basically is still you, Aaron. Only with shorter hair.**

**Aaron: I see...**

**Misty: And what about me?**

**Me: The main female character is based off of you, but just for looks and love of Water-types. But I didn't give her the ponytail and she wears a different outfit.**

**Brock: What did you man them?**

**Me: The male character's name is still Aaron. But the girl's name is Kasumi.**

**Misty: Wait, isn't that my name from the Japanese version of the Pokémon series?**

**Me: It is. But that's not how I came up with it.**

**Misty: Then how?**

**Me: The first three letters, "K", "a" and "s", are from the first letters of my first, middle and last name. "Umi" is from the Japanese word meaning "Water", at least I think so. Or maybe I've gone back into Yu-Gi-Oh mode. Oh well.**

**Ash: Hey, are we going to start this or not.**

**Me: Oh, right. Sorry. I do...**

**Ash: WAIT!**

**Me: *heavy sigh* Now what?**

**Ash: Why'd you skip "Bye Bye Butterfree"?**

**Me: Because the episode was only about you and your Butterfree. Butterfree was the hero of the episode so Aaron wouldn't be able to help. Now please, stop bothering me as to why I'm skipping episodes from turning them into chapters.**

**Ash: Fine.**

**Me: Good. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 16: Episode 21: Abra And The Psychic Showdown-

After saying farewell to his Butterfree, Ash and his friends continued their journey, only to end up getting lost in the forest once more.

"So this is the way to Saffron City, huh, Misty?" Ash asked the redhead as he stopped walking, causing the other four trainers to stop as well. "I knew we shouldn't have listened to you. Now we'll never get out of here!"

"As if! Your sense of direction's so bad, you can't find yourself in a mirror!" Misty argued.

"You crack mirrors!" Ash countered.

"You big baby!" Misty countered back.

"That's enough, guys," Brock said. "You two don't wanna stand here and insult each other like this."

"Yes, we do!" Ash and Misty said together.

"You sure? With all the Bug Pokémon around here?" Aaron said, but mostly directed the question towards Misty.

"B-b-bugs? There are bugs in this forest?" Misty asked, scared.

"Could be. You never know," Aaron answered. '_At least that stopped them from arguing for now._'

Then the four trainers heard laughing nearby. They looked around to see a little girl wearing a white dress and a white hat bouncing a ball.

"Ah… hello! Do you live around here?" Ash asked the little girl.

The little girl just caught the ball in her hands as it bounced into the air again and then ran off.

"Hey! Please don't run away!" Ash called out to the little girl before chasing after her.

"Ash! Get back here!" Brock called out to the young trainer.

"That's Ash for you. Acts first and never thinks," Misty said.

"We should follow him to make sure nothing happens," Aaron suggested, earning nods from Misty and Brock.

The three trainers then ran in the same direction as Ash until they heard someone scream.

"Bulbasaur!" the voice called out and a Bulbasaur appear on the edge of the cliff in front of the three trainers.

Bulbasaur used its Vine Whip over the cliff to catch something.

"Who wants to bet that was Ash?" Aaron asked as the three trainers stopped running and just walked next to Bulbasaur.

"I'll take that bet," Misty said as Brock nodded in agreement.

Bulbasaur pulled up its vines and Ash pulled himself up from the edge of the cliff.

'_Figures,_' the three standing trainers thought simultaneously.

"Whew! That was close," Ash said.

"Hey, what about that weird little girl?" Misty asked. "Where'd she run off to?"

"Beats me. But take a look over there," Ash said as he pointed over the cliff to a city in the distance.

"Oh, wow! It's beautiful!" Misty said as she looked at all the lights.

"Saffron City," Ash said.

"Looks like following that little girl turned out to be helpful, even if Ash fell off a cliff," Aaron said.

"Sabrina's the Gym Leader of the Saffron City Gym. You defeat her, you win a Marsh Badge," Brock said.

"Yes! Look out, Sabrina. Here I come!" Ash said, getting pumped up for his gym match.

The four trainers found a way down the cliff and made their way into the city not long after.

"Now, _this_ is what I call a city!" Ash said.

"Yeah!" Brock said in agreement.

But as the four trainers walked into the city, something started to go off around the trainers feet and causing them to jump around a bit.

"This must be some kind of ambush!" Brock said, thinking they were being shot at.

But then a party ball opened up above the four trainers as confetti fell on and around the trainers. Then the four trainers were greeted by two girls wearing Hawaiian skirts as they put a necklace of flowers around Ash before both of them kissed him on the cheek.

"Congratulations, winners," both girls said.

"Winners?! There's something real fishy about this!" Ash said. "Why would we win something just for walking into town?"

"There's a simple explanation," the brunette girl said.

"It just so happens that you're the millionth, millionth and first, millionth and second, millionth and third, and millionth and fourth visitors to Saffron City!" the girl with long red hair answered.

"Oh, boy!" Ash cheered as Brock and Misty also seemed to enjoy this. "It looks like our luck is starting to turn good!"

Aaron however just seemed skeptical, but decided to keep his mouth shut so long as his friends seemed happy. The two Hawaiian girls then led the four trainers towards one of the buildings.

"Right this way to the grand-prize room," said the red-haired girl as the front doors opened.

"Please step lively," the brunette said.

The four trainers and Pikachu did as told and walked into the building.

"Thank you for your Pikachu," the four trainers heard a guy say.

"Huh?" the four trainers wondered as they turned around only to see the two girls behind them and the brunette girl was holding Pikachu with what seemed to be rubber gloves.

"Hey! You can't take P--" Ash said but was cut off when the red-haired girl put her hand over his face.

"You've won a trip through the warp tile!" the girl said as she pushed Ash into the other three trainers, knocking them backwards and making them land on a tile that made them disappear.

"What's going on here?" Ash wondered as the four trainers found themselves in a sealed room.

"This doesn't look good," Aaron said.

"If this is the grand-prize room, then where are all the prizes?" Ash asked, letting his stupidity take over.

"Can't you put 2 and 2 together?! The only thing we've won is this trap!" Misty yelled at the young trainer.

"This does not bode well," Aaron said.

"Aaron's right. There are no doors or windows in this room," Brock said.

"Bingo," the trainers heard someone say. "The warp tile is the only way in or out of this room. There's no way to escape."

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked, wondering where the voice was coming from.

A TV was then lowered from the ceiling of the room.

"Good evening," the trainers heard two voices say as the TV turned on to show the two girls from earlier. "You're watching the premiere _Prepare For Trouble, Make It Double_ show."

The two girls then disappeared off-screen as articles of clothing were being thrown around until Jessie and James stood up.

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash shouted, but then thought back to when they entered the city. "Ew! Gross! They both kissed me!"

Ash then tore off the flower necklace and tried to wipe the kisses off his cheeks as Aaron, Misty and Brock just laughed a bit at their friend.

"To protect the world from devastation…" Jessie said.

"To unite all peoples within our nation…" James said.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Hey, don't sit there ignoring us!" both members of Team Rocket shouted as they noticed the four trainers had somehow set up a small table and were sitting down having a drink.

"Their show is pretty boring," Misty said.

"Quite right," Aaron agreed.

"It'll get canceled pretty soon," Ash said.

"We're boring?" James repeated as he turned towards Jessie.

"Just you wait. We have something that'll grab their attention! Ha ha ha! Because now it's time for our special guest's…" Jessie started and she and James moved away from the monitor to reveal Meowth standing next to a tied-up Pikachu.

"Farewell performance," Meowth said, finishing Jessie's sentence.

"You better give Pikachu back right now!" Ash demanded as he stood up and, somehow, the table managed to disappear, then he ran right up to the TV screen. "Hey, where are you going? Turn it back on!"

"This is either something good or something bad," Aaron said.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Yeah! How can anything good come out of this?" Ash shouted at the brown-haired trainer.

"The bad is that Team Rocket could've already left the building with Pikachu," Aaron said, to which Ash became depressed about the possible loss of his best friend. "But we all know how much those three like to gloat. So chances are they're having a few technical difficulties."

"And that's the good part?" Brock asked.

"I'd assume so. They're probably trying to find some way to get this working again so they can gloat some more," Aaron answered.

Then the four trainers heard giggling, just like when they were in the forest. They turned around to see the same little girl as before and she was holding Pikachu.

"Pikachu!" Ash said happily as Pikachu jumped out of the girl's hands and ran over to Ash, who then turned his attention right to the little girl. "So it's you again. Are you the one who saved Pikachu?"

The girl only nodded, but was still giggling.

"Thank you. I owe you one," Ash said.

But then the girl started to glow a bright blue color and the four trainers slowly backed away.

"We'd better watch out. That's no ordinary little girl!" Misty said.

"So… what is she then?" Ash asked.

The girl just kept giggling as she pointed at the four trainers.

"Hey… what's going on?" Ash wondered.

The four trainers and Pikachu then disappeared from the room. The next thing they knew, they were back outside.

"How'd we wind up back outside again?" Misty wondered.

"That little girl must have done something to get us out of there," Ash said.

'_Is it possible that she has psychic abilities? I didn't think it was possible for someone at such a young age to control their abilities so well,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"We should be ok as long as we don't have to win any more prizes," Brock said.

"You sure got that right," Aaron agreed.

"Huh? Ah!" Ash said as he saw a strange-looking building in front of the four of them. "What's that?"

Ash's question got the attention of the other three trainers and they also looked at the building.

"You've come to Saffron City, and you don't even know Sabrina's gym?" the four trainers heard someone ask.

The four of them turned around to see a man jogging with a green suit and a yellow baseball cap.

"So _that's_ Sabrina's gym," Ash said, returning his attention to the building.

"If you're trying to enter the Pokémon League, young man, this is one gym I suggest you stay away from," the man said.

"Huh? But why?" Ash said, turning back around to face the man, but the man was already jogging away. "Where's he going?"

"I wonder what he meant, about us staying away from here," Aaron thought aloud.

"It doesn't matter. I've gotta compete here. Without a Marsh Badge, I can't get into the Pokémon League," Ash said as he turned around to enter the gym, followed by Misty, Aaron and Brock.

"Anyone here?" Ash called out once the four trainers entered the gym.

The entire building appeared to be empty.

"That's weird. Everyone's gone," Ash said. "Hello!"

The four trainers decided to walk around the gym to try and find someone who could take Ash to Sabrina.

"There's something creepy about this place," Misty said.

The trainers then noticed a green door and, figuring someone might be in there who could help, they walked up to the door and looked through the window. Inside the room were several tables and a lot of people sitting at the tables. Some people were holding spoons and just glaring at them while groups of two people at each table were using cards.

"What kind of place is this?" Ash asked when he saw a girl in the room bend a spoon just by looking at it.

"What are you kids doing here?" the trainers heard someone ask.

The four of them turned to see a man with long, spiky brown hair wearing a white lab coat and a mouth mask.

"We've come to ask for a Pokémon match to earn a Marsh Badge," Ash answered.

"You wish to challenge the great Sabrina?" the man asked while laughing, his voice giving off a kind of Dracula/Transylvania accent.

"Sure do," Ash answered.

"E-excuse me, but what are all those people doing in that room?" Misty asked as she pointed at the green door.

"Hmph. You know so little, yet you wish to challenge the great Sabrina," the man said.

The man then chuckled as he held out a spoon. Ash, Misty and Brock appeared confused while Aaron raised an eyebrow. The man then started to glare at the spoon until his face was as red as a tomato and sweat started to pour down his face. The spoon then bent and the man relaxed, trying to catch his breath like he ran a marathon.

"Is something wrong? You look like you've got a headache," Ash said.

"Fool! It's telekinesis! You can't control a Psychic-type Pokémon without using telekinetic power," the man explained.

"Hmm. That's what you think," Ash said as he walked up to the man and grabbed the spoon out of his hand. "Telekinesis is ok, but I have my own secret method for bending spoons."

Ash had the muster all the strength he had in order to bend the spoon with both his hands.

"Ha ha ha! Muscle over mind!" Ash gloated.

"Embarrassing," Misty said as she covered her face with her hand.

"He's making a complete fool of himself," Aaron said.

"Just pretend we never met him before," Brock said as he looked away from Ash.

"Pika pi," Pikachu said, scratching the back of its head.

"Now… hurry up and take us to Sabrina so we can start the match!" Ash demanded.

"Hmph. As you wish," the man said, leading the four trainers through the building until they reached a set of large double doors.

The man pushed the doors open and walked in ahead of the trainers only to kneel near some kind of curtain at the back of the room.

"This is more like some kind of temple than a Pokémon Gym," Brock said as he looked around.

"Whatever it's like, I don't like it," Misty said.

"Oh, great Sabrina, these strangers have come who wish to challenge you," the masked man said, then he turned his attention to the four trainers. "Though I don't know why you'd waste your time on this group of losers!"

From behind the curtain, the little girl wearing white appeared again.

"Whoa! It's the little girl who brought back Pikachu!" Ash said.

The girl looked up and her eyes were glowing red. Then the man in the lab coat started to hold his neck in pain.

"Forgive me, great one! It's not my place to decide whom you battle!" the man said as he slowly stood up.

The little girl's eyes stopped glowing red and the man took this opportunity to run as fast as he could out of the room.

"I told you there was something really strange about her," Misty said.

"Right, but who is she?" Brock wondered.

"Are you really Sabrina?" Ash asked the little girl.

The little girl only giggled in response.

"Sabrina, I demand an official match to compete for a Marsh Badge!" Ash said.

"Mm0hmm. I'd like to have a match," the little girl said.

"Well, that was easy," Ash said.

"But if you lose…" the little girl continued, regaining the attention of the four trainers. "You have to be my friends and let me play with you."

"Uh… be your friends? Ha ha. Ok, you bet!" Ash replied, then turned back to face the other three trainers. "You three gotta have a little more faith in me. Even if she does have some telekinetic power, she's still only a little girl."

"Just don't let your guard down, Ash," Brock said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered as he turned his attention back to the little girl.

The curtain slowly lifted up and the light behind it slowly came on, revealing a young woman sitting on a chair with the little girl on her lap.

'_Something doesn't seem right about this. I hope Ash knows what he's doing or we all end up in trouble,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"So now… time for us to play," the young woman said in a completely emotionless voice.

The doors to the room then sealed shut behind the trainers, causing them to turn around.

"So you were really Sabrina the Gym Leader," Ash said as he and the other three trainers turned their attention to the young woman sitting in the chair.

Sabrina then seemed to levitate from the chair and float to her side of the battlefield, still holding the little girl as the girl held a PokéBall.

"One-on-one. And all-out match," Sabrina said as the lights around the field turned on. "Agreed?"

"Agreed!" Ash said.

The little girl let go of the PokéBall and it seemed to float up.

"Come now, Abra," Sabrina said.

The PokéBall flew forward and opened up upon hitting the floor. A small yellow and purple Pokémon materialized from the ball and appeared to just sit on the floor.

"Go get him, Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu charged in and stood only a few feet from Abra, ready to fight. However, Abra just sat there, completely ignoring Pikachu.

"A… bra…" the Pokémon said, apparently asleep.

Pikachu circled around its opponent as Abra just snoozed.

"Pika-pi! Pikachu!" Pikachu said to Ash while pointing at Abra, apparently confused by its opponent's actions.

"I don't get it! Nobody sends a sleeping Pokémon into a match. Maybe she's making fun of me," Ash said as he pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at Abra.

"Abra: A Psychic-power Pokémon. It sleeps 18 hours a day, but employs telekinesis even while sleeping," the machine said.

"Telekinesis?" Ash repeated.

"You'd better watch out, Ash. If Abra can use telekinetic powers even while asleep, it must be powerful," Aaron said.

"No problem. Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu jumped backwards and started to charge electricity. But then Abra's eyes opened slightly to reveal its eyes were completely red. The Pokémon then teleported just as Pikachu unleashed its attack. Pikachu walked up to where Abra had been and looked around confused as the Psychic-type reappeared behind the yellow mouse.

"It teleported itself!" Misty said.

"Childish fools," Sabrina said, still with her emotionless tone as she started to glow a bright blue.

Abra started to glow white and seemed to explode, but a new, taller version of Abra stood in its place.

"Kadabra!" the new Pokémon said.

"What's that?" Ash wondered, pointing his Pokédex at the new Pokémon.

"Kadabra: A Psychic Pokémon. The evolved form of Abra. Exploys powerful telekinetic attacks," the red machine explained.

"That isn't fair! I thought this was one-on-one!" Ash shouted.

"But evolving during a match isn't against any rules!" Misty stated.

"Stay alert, Ash. Kadabra are very powerful Pokémon," Aaron warned.

"This time, you won't get away from Pikachu! It's against the rule to leave a stadium, even by teleportation. Pikachu, fill up this whole stadium with lightning! Hit 'em with your best shock!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu did as Ash said and started to build up all the power it had in its tiny body. Electricity shot out of its cheeks until Pikachu released the electric energy. All the electricity flew up to the roof and formed what seemed to be a yellow vortex of lightning. The vortex grew in size until it shot a powerful blast of lightning down on Kadabra. However, the Psychic-type used its telekinetic powers to chang the direction of the attack. As Kadabra's eyes started to glow red, the bolts of lightning merged together.

"Now what?" Ash asked.

"Confusion," Sabrina ordered.

As soon as the lightning was right above Kadabra's head, it turned around towards Pikachu, forming into what appeared to be a dragon formed from electricity. Pikachu tried to run away, but the electric dragon struck the mouse dead-on.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Psychic attack," Sabrina said.

Kadabra walked up to Pikachu and its eyes started to glow again. Pikachu then stood up, but not of its own will.

"That's right, Pikachu! Don't give up!" Ash said.

Pikachu then turned around and seemed to start dancing.

"Ha! Look at that. Pikachu feels like dancing," Ash said.

"That's no dance. Kadabra's using its psychic powers to control Pikachu's body," Misty said.

"Huh?!" Ash wondered, going over what Misty just said in his head over and over again as he looked back at Pikachu.

Kadabra's eyes then started to glow once more and Pikachu levitated off the ground. Kadabra looked up at the ceiling and Pikachu went flying, hitting its back on the roof. Kadabra then looked at the floor and Pikachu flew right into the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

Kadabra kept looking at the ceiling and at the floor, making Pikachu into the roof and the ground alternatively.

"Ahh. Pikachu," Ash said, growing concerned for his Pokémon. "Unh! That's it! Stop the match!"

Ash then ran onto the field as Kadabra looked back at him, causing Pikachu to fall to the floor. Ash ran up to Pikachu and picked up the mouse.

"Pikachu. Are you all right?" Ash asked the yellow rodent as Misty, Aaron and Brock ran up to Ash and Pikachu. "I--I forfeit."

"Be my friends. You promised I could play with you," the little girl said.

The girl then looked up at the four trainers, her eyes glowing blood-red. The four trainers disappeared once more only to find themselves outside again.

"_Now_ where are we?" Ash wondered.

"Ah. Looks like we've been teleported again," Brock said.

"Sabrina must have teleported us from the Pokémon Gym," Misty said.

"This place is empty," Brock said as he looked around.

'_We're definitely not back in the city. So where could she have sent us to?_' Aaron wondered as he looked at all the small buildings compared to the towering skyscrapers they had seen before entering the gym.

"I'll take a look around," Ash said as he put Pikachu down and ran off.

"We'll come with you, Ash," Misty said as she, Aaron and Brock followed after the young trainer.

The four of them entered one of the closest houses.

"Is anybody home?" Ash asked and looked around. "Please, can somebody help us?"

Ash walked in when no one answered and so did Misty, Aaron and Brock. There was nobody in the room. Just two desks, a TV, and a table and chairs with pieces of cake on them.

"Hey," Ash said as he spotted the cake.

"That cake looks delicious," Brock said as the four trainers walked up to the table.

"Sabrina wanted to play with us, but I guess we're gonna have lunch first," Ash said. "I wonder where she is."

Ash then walked away from the table to look around some more.

"Guess it's rude to wait for her, but I can't resist," Brock said as he picked up a piece of cake from the table and bit it, but then yelled in pain. "Aah! This stupid cake is fake!"

"Huh?" Misty wondered.

"How can that be?" Aaron asked.

The brown-haired boy grabbed another piece of cake and just examined it.

"Hm… I wonder," Aaron said.

The boy then quickly turned around and threw the piece of cake at a wall. The cake hit the wall, but there was no explosion of cake and not even a smear of icing on the wall. The cake just hit the wall and fell off.

"It's plastic!" Misty said.

The three trainers then heard Ash yell and ran where his voice was last heard, thinking something happened to him. They noticed him trying to cover his face and figured he walked into the bathroom and not noticed what was wrong with the house. Pikachu tugged at Ash's pant leg and pointed at the mirror.

"Hmm?" Ash wondered as he turned around to look in the mirror. "Huh? Something's not right here."

Ash looked into the bathroom again and the figure in the bathtub turned around.

"That thing is a doll!" Ash exclaimed.

"Ash, you're not gonna believe this, but we're inside a dollhouse," Misty said to the young trainer.

"This is a dollhouse?!" Ash repeated.

"The food, the TV, the table, everything here is made of plastic!" Aaron said.

"How can that be?" Ash wondered, but then the four trainers felt the building start to shake. "Aah! It's an earthquake!"

"Up there!" Aaron shouted as he noticed the roof of the house was moving.

Ash, Misty and Brock also looked up in time to see the roof pulled off and saw the little girl and Sabrina.

"Now I can play with you all," the little girl said.

"Wow. She's pretty tall for a little girl," Ash said, his idioticness getting the best of him.

"Actually, I think we're the ones who got a lot smaller," Misty said.

The little girl started giggling as Sabrina reached into the house.

"Run for it!" Ash yelled.

The four trainers ran out of the house just as Sabrina's hand hit the floor.

"How can we get away from her?!" Brock asked as the four trainers ran down the fake street.

"The houses, the streets, they're all her toys," Misty said.

"That means we're…" Ash started to say.

"That means were trapped, trapped inside her toy box," Misty said, finishing Ash's sentence.

"Must've shrunk us with telekinesis," Brock said.

"So when she said she wanted to play with us, she really meant it," Ash said.

"Let's just try finding some way out of here. Maybe if we can get out of this toy box, we'll return to out normal size," Aaron said.

The four trainers continued to run and find some way out, but the walls were too high. Eventually they ran into a dead end in the form of a picture.

"It's a dead end," Brock said.

The four trainers then heard something pounding the ground and turned around to see the little girl bouncing her ball as she walked towards them.

"She's coming this way," Misty said.

"Uh-oh," Brock said.

"We're gonna have a ball," Ash said.

"This is no time for jokes, Ash," Aaron said.

"I wanna play catch," the girl said as she held her ball before rolling it across the ground towards the four mini trainers.

"We're gonna get squashed!" Ash shouted.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Arron said as he stood between the ball and his friends, holding a PokéBall.

"Arron, what are you trying to do?" Misty asked.

"I'm going to try and pop that ball," Aaron answered.

"Are you crazy?" Ash asked.

"It's the only chance we have. And I'd rather not be turned into a pancake," Aaron said.

As the ball drew closer, Aaron was about to throw his PokéBall.

"Here we go!" Aaron said, but just before he could throw his PokéBall, someone suddenly appeared in front of him. "What the?"

"Listen. Let your minds rely on mine," the person in front of them said.

With no other choice, the four trainers did as told.

"Teleportation," the man said and the five of them disappeared from where they were standing.

The four trainers once again found themselves outside, and this time it was the real deal.

"Now what?" Misty asked as she looked around.

"This is a real place," Brock answered. "Heh. We made it."

The four trainers then looked in front of themselves to see the jogging man from earlier standing in front of them.

"There's that guy," Misty said.

"Thanks for the help," Ash said.

"But why did you decide to rescue us?" Misty asked.

"Sabrina is a dangerous Pokémon trainer. I got the chance to help you this time, but next time you won't be so lucky. You'll be trapped in her toy box for eternity," the man said. "Give up your crazy idea of challenging Sabrina. Leave Saffron City and never come back here."

"I can't do that. I have to win Sabrina's Marsh Badge so I'll be able to get into the Pokémon League," Ash said.

"You will never be able to defeat Sabrina and her Psychic Pokémon," the man said.

"Yes, I will. We just need to make a quicker attack before she can kick in with her psychic powers," Ash said.

The man then looked up at Ash and his eyes started to glow red. The next thing Ash knew, his pants had fallen down and he started dancing. Aaron immediately covered Misty's eyes with his hand.

"Ash, show some decency, will you?" Aaron berated the young trainer.

"What do you think you're doing?" Brock asked.

"It's not me. My body's moving by itself," Ash answered.

"Ha. If you can't beat me, you haven't a chance against Sabrina," the man said as his eyes stopped glowing, causing Ash to stop dancing.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked as he pulled his pants back up, to which Aaron removed his hand from Misty's eyes. "Can you use telekinesis, too?"

"Thanks, Aaron," Misty said.

"I'm sure you wouldn't want to be seeing that anyway," Aaron said.

"Please, teach me how to use psychic powers," Ash begged the jogger as he ran up to the man.

The man just lifted a finger and pointed it at Ash, causing the trainer to fly backwards to the ground.

"Whoa," Misty, Aaron and Brock said when they saw Ash slide along the ground from the man's psychic abilities.

"You usually have to be born with telekinetic powers. You can't just learn them," the man said as he turned his back to the young trainer and started walking away.

"Please wait," Ash said as he slowly stood back up, causing the man to turn back around to face him.

"Just forget about it, Ash," Brock said.

"You haven't got a chance against telekinesis," Misty said.

"I may not have telekinesis, but I've still got the guts to take on Sabrina again," Ash said as he slowly walked towards the man again, only to be thrown back once more.

"Wise up, kid. Not even I have the powers to defeat Sabrina. Guts don't count in this contest. I'm telling you this for your own good," the man said.

"Don't, Ash," Misty said as the hat-wearing boy slowly got back up.

"Better call it quits, Ash," Brock said as Ash slowly walked back towards the man.

"He sure is determined," Aaron muttered.

The man's eyes just started to glow red again as Ash felt himself being pulled to the ground. However, this didn't stop the boy as Ash slowly crawled towards the man, earning a look of surprise from the jogger.

"Ash, give it up!" Brock tried to warn his friend.

"Please. I need your help. I've gotta defeat Sabrina for the Marsh Badge. I have to. You gotta help me beat her. Please show me how," Ash begged the man, only to stop a few inches from the jogger with only one hand grabbing the man's shoe.

"Well, that's one determined kid," the man said to himself as he looked down at Ash, a grin appearing on his face. "The just may be one way you can defeat her."

"Huh?" Ash asked as he looked up at the man.

"Only one other type of Pokémon can battle the Psychic-type. If you capture a Ghost Pokémon from Lavender Town, you might have a chance," the man said.

"A Ghost Pokémon from Lavender Town. Thank you," Ash said before nearly passing out.

The man then teleported away from Ash as the other three trainers ran up to him.

"Ash!" Misty called out.

"Ash. Hey, Ash," Brock said.

"You all right, kid?" Aaron asked.

"You haven't got a chance against a Psychic Pokémon," Misty said, trying to get Ash to back down as she. Brock and Aaron helped him back up.

"Ha! Let's go. On to Lavender Town!" Ash said in determination.

Once Ash stood up straight, the four trainers made their way to Lavender Town.

* * *

**Me: So there we go. The battle against Sabrina. Or at least, round 1.**

**Ash: Perfect. Now to get a Ghost Pokémon.**

**Aaron: You mean like Gastly?**

**Me: Yeah, only Ash gets something stronger. But also, after the next chapter, Aaron will be catching a new Pokémon.**

**Ash: What? How can he catch a Pokémon while I'm battling Sabrina?**

**Me: Who said you'd be fighting her in the chapter following the next one?**

**Ash: You're not going to skip it, are you?**

**Me: No. The battle against Sabrina will be in in three more chapters. Next will be Ash getting his Ghost Pokémon, then the next with Aaron getting his new Pokémon.**

**Misty: Hey, that's cool. At least Aaron is getting more Pokémon.**

**Aaron: Yeah.**

**Me: Hey, Brock. Want to close us out?**

**Brock: Sure. Please R&R, everyone.**


	17. Special Chapter 1

**Me: Hello, everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I've been busy with other things.**

**Ash: Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa. Hang on a second.**

**Me: What?**

**Ash: "Special Chapter"? And what happened to me catching Haunter?**

**Misty: You know very well that you didn't catch Haunter. It just decided to follow you for the match against Sabrina.**

**Me: Well, the reason why I didn't do a chapter on "The Tower Of Terror" was because, as I re-watched it, I didn't see any way to make major changes to it. So any episodes that I can't see any way of making big changes to, which means a lot that revolve around just Ash, I'm going to have to skip for lack of ideas to give Aaron a larger role.**

**Ash: WHAT?!**

**Brock: He does have a point, Ash. While the show is about you, this fanfic is about Aaron.**

**Me: That's right, Brock. And I need Aaron to have big roles in as many chapters as possible.**

**Ash: *pouts* Fine. But what about this "Special Chapter"?**

**Me: Ah, yes. I haven't explained that yet. The Special Chapters are self-made chapters that aren't made by watching an episode, though I may use previous episodes for flashbacks or reminiscing. And as such, the Special Chapters are dedicated only to Aaron and focus on him, be it catching a new Pokémon, having one of his current Pokémon evolve when not finding an opportunity to within episodes, or just other stuff that focus on Aaron. So far I have one other Special Chapter planned, but it won't be until somewhere in season 4.**

**Aaron: Thanks, AzureKite4.**

**Me: Sure thing. Now then, how would you like the give the disclaimer for your chapter, Aaron?**

**Aaron: Sure. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

**  
**

-Chapter 17: Special Chapter 1-

After reaching Lavender Town and having a rather _ghostly_ experience, Ash Ketchum was able to, unofficially, catch a Haunter to battle against Sabrina and her Kadabra, Now the four trainers head back towards Saffron City. But another rather ghostly experience is waiting just around the corner.

"Ha ha! Now I'm going to beat Sabrina and get that Marsh Badge. I'll be unstoppable with Haunter," Ash started to gloat rather prematurely while the Haunter in question was smiling and laughing as it usually did.

"Ash sure is getting full of himself again," Aaron said.

"Well he was able to get a Ghost Pokémon to help him, so he should be happy about it," Brock said.

"Even though he didn't actually catch it," Misty sighed.

"Why should it matter if I used a PokéBall to get Haunter or not?" Ash asked as he turned around to face his friends. "I mean, look at Pikachu. He's never in his PokéBall and he's still my Pokémon."

"That's because Pikachu was in a ball _before_ you got it. And you still have the ball, right?" Aaron said more as a statement than a question.

"I guess you're right," Ash said, scratching the back of his head.

"Haunt haunt haunt haunt!" Haunter laughed. "Haunt?"

"Huh? What is it, Haunter?" Ash asked the Ghost Pokémon.

Haunter just started looking around, a look of fear steadily growing on its face more and more.

"Uh, Ash? I hope Haunter isn't trying to prank us again," Misty said.

"No, wait," Aaron said as he took a harder look at Haunter. "It's actually scared."

"Scared? Ha! There's no way Haunter could be scared," Ash said, but Haunter just flew at Ash's back and went into his backpack. "Haunter?"

"But what could Haunter be afraid of? Ghost Pokémon usually aren't scared of anything since they scare everything else," Brock started to wonder.

Everyone just started to looking around, trying to find whatever was scaring Haunter. Suddenly, the four trainers heard an explosion nearby and looked over in the direction it came from. Not too far from the four of them, a cloud of purple smoke started rising up. Another explosion soon followed with more purple smoke.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Misty said, fear in her voice.

The explosions steadily drew closer as the clouds of purple smoke became steadily larger.

"I'll go check it out," Aaron said before running towards the explosions.

"Aaron, get back here!" Misty called out to her friend.

"What is he thinking? That explosion could be anything," Brock said.

"Then let's go after him," Ash said, earning a quick nod from Brock and a hesitant one from Misty.

As Aaron ran closer and closer to the purple smoke, the explosions were clearing getting louder and louder. The brown-haired boy stopped himself when one of the explosions was so close that it could've been only a few feet in front of him.

"Come out and show yourself!" Aaron called out.

"Gas… Gas…" a voice said.

"Huh?" Aaron wondered as he looked around, trying to find the voice's source.

"GASTLY!" a floating black ball yelled out as it appeared in front of Aaron and shot an attack at him, sending him flying back a bit.

"Ouch," Aaron said as he pushed himself back up to see his assailant. "A Gastly? That's what Haunter's afraid of?"

Aaron just took a harder look at Gastly as the Ghost Pokémon appeared ready to make another attack at any moment.

"There's something different about this Gastly. It looks more aggressive than the one from Maiden's Peak and definitely nothing like the Haunter Ash got," Aaron said to himself, jumping to the right just in time to dodge a Night Shade attack from the Gastly. "I better catch this thing before it can hurt the others."

"Aaron!" the brown-haired boy heard someone call out to him.

Aaron turned around to see his three friends running towards him.

"Stay back! I've got this one!" Aaron said as he held out one arm to his friends to signal them to stand still.

The three trainers stopped right when Aaron told them too as they noticed the Gastly. Haunter slowly floated out of Ash's backpack and spotted the Gastly, which quickly glanced at Haunter, causing the evolved Ghost Pokémon to retreat into the green backpack once more.

"This Gastly is what's scaring Haunter?" Brock questioned.

"But Haunter is Gastly evolved form. Why would Haunter be so scared of it?" Misty asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out one way or another," Aaron said as he pulled one of his PokéBalls. '_I only have one Pokémon that can stand any chance against a Gastly. But after Maiden's Peak, I just hope she's up to it._

Aaron gripped the ball tightly in his fist.

"Let's go, Oddish!" Aaron called out as he threw the ball.

The red and white orb struck the ground and opened up, the small Weed Pokémon materialized from the white light that poured out.

"Odd?" the Grass-type wondered as she looked around.

"Oddish, I need your help to battle Gastly," Aaron requested of his Pokémon.

Oddish looked up at the Ghost Pokémon and saw the terrifying look on its face, causing the Weed Pokémon to run behind Aaron and hide behind one of his legs.

"Come on, Oddish. I need your help," Aaron said to his Pokémon.

Oddish just cowered behind Aaron's leg and Misty noticed how scared it was.

"You can do it, Oddish!" Misty called out to the Weed Pokémon.

"Huh?" Brock wondered.

"Misty?" Ash asked.

Both trainers were a little surprised by Misty's action, but remembering back to the hidden village where they met Oddish, Misty and Oddish did seem to get along. Oddish just looked over to Misty and then up at Aaron. It took a few seconds, but Oddish finally felt ready to battle.

"All right. Now let's do this, Oddish," Aaron said.

"Odd odd," Oddish agreed.

Oddish and Gastly just stared each other down, Gastly waiting for Oddish to make a move and both Aaron and Oddish waiting for Gastly to make a move.

"Oddish! Attack with Razor Leaf!" Aaron told his Pokémon.

Oddish did as told and shot the flying leaves at the Gas Pokémon, but Gastly only faded away to dodge the attack.

"What the?" Aaron wondered.

"Be careful! Ghost Pokémon like Gastly can make themselves invisible to escape attacks!" Brock yelled out.

'_Great. This'll just make the fight harder. If I can't see Gastly, then can I hit it? If only I had some way I could reveal its location,_' Aaron thought to himself and then he looked at Oddish, his eyes widening in realization not long after. '_That's it!_'

But before Aaron could give an order to Oddish, a flash of purple light shot at the Grass/Poison Pokémon, the Night Shade attack hitting dead-on and sending Oddish flying.

"Oddish!" Aaron called out while the other three trainers gasped. "Use Razor Leaf, quick!"

Oddish, while still airborne, shook off the pain from the Night Shade and released the flying leaves at where she was attacked. But when they didn't hear any sounds of pain, the trainers and Oddish assumed Gastly had vanished again.

"Now's our chance! Oddish, use Poison Powder!" Aaron requested his Pokémon.

Oddish, while wondering what her trainer was planning, did as told. A purple powdery substance was released from the Weed Pokémon's leaves and formed into some kind of cloud as the poison spread through the air. It wasn't long before Aaron spotted movement in the powder.

"Now, Oddish! Use Absorb!" Aaron called out.

Oddish did as told and shot out a green liquid-like substance from her mouth. The green liquid hit its mark, causing Gastly to reappear while the liquid appeared to stick to the Ghost Pokémon. The green liquid started to glow, as did Oddish, and the Weed Pokémon's injuries started to slowly heal themselves.

"Perfect. Now that Gastly's energy is being drained to heal Oddish, it should be easier to hit it," Aaron said to himself. "Oddish! Use Razor Leaf one more time!"

Oddish did as told once its wounds were healed, once again releasing the leaves at the Gas Pokémon. This time the leaves hit, doing a considerable amount of damage to Gastly.

"Let's hurry and wrap this up! Use Sleep Powder!" Aaron commanded.

Oddish did as her trainer said as a blue powdery substance was released from her leaves. The cloud of blue powder quickly drew towards Gastly and soon engulfed it. With no way to escape, Gastly succumbed to the powder's effect and slowly drifted to sleep.

"Now you're mine," Aaron said as he grabbed an empty PokéBall. "PokéBall, go!"

Aaron threw the ball at the sleeping Gastly and it struck, pulling the Ghost Pokémon in by a red light. The ball landed on the ground and slowly started to shake as the red light blinked crazily. Both Aaron and Oddish stayed on guard just in case Gastly broke free, but they relaxed when the light faded and the shaking stopped, indicating a successful capture. Aaron just smirked as he walked towards the PokéBall and picked it up off the ground. His three friends ran over to check if it actually was successful or if Gastly was playing possum and planning to break out in a few seconds.

"Did you get it?" Ash asked.

"See for yourself," Aaron said as he held out the ball in his hand.

"Way to go, Aaron. You got a new Pokémon," Misty congratulated her friend.

"Thanks, but Oddish deserves most of the credit. She did do the fighting after all," Aaron said as he turned to his Grass-type Pokémon.

"Oddish," the Weed Pokémon said happily to her trainer.

"Thank you, Oddish," Aaron said as he knelt down and pet his Pokémon.

Aaron then pulled out Oddish's PokéBall and returned the happy Pokémon to the red and white sphere. Haunter also floated out of Ash's backpack to see that Aaron had indeed captured the Gastly that scared it.

"I wonder why that Gastly scared Haunter so much," Brock said.

"Well, it was tough. But I guess it's something we'll never know," Aaron said.

"Speaking of Haunter, can we get back to Saffron? I really want my rematch against Sabrina," Ash started to whine.

"Of course, of course," Aaron said as he chuckled a bit at how much Ash was acting like a big baby.

After making sure Gastly was secured within its PokéBall, the four trainers headed back towards Saffron City.

* * *

**Me: And that's the chapter.**

**Ash: Kinda short, don't you think?**

**Me: Compared to the others? Definitely. But most chapters I write on my own never turn out very long anyway. But that shouldn't matter. If my readers like it, then it's fine by me. Now Aaron, care to close us out?**

**Aaron: Yep. Please R&R, everyone.**


	18. Haunter Versus Kadabra

***I sit in a chair, just thinking***

**Misty: What's wrong, AzureKite4?**

***I don't answer***

**Ash: It's probably nothing. Everything's been going fine so far, right?**

***I still don't answer***

**Aaron: Could it be one of the reviews from the previous chapter?**

***I only nod***

**Brock: Which one was it?**

**Me: Nothing too big. Just saying Aaron was out of character in the previous chapter.**

**All 4: Out of character?**

**Aaron: But I'm an Original Character created by you. I'm not even remotely based off anyone from the series, so I can't be out of character, right?**

**Me: That's right. Well, half right. You are based off me.**

**Misty: But you're not from the series.**

**Me: Right, sorry. And I guess saying Aaron is based off me is also the wrong thing to say.**

**All 4: Huh?**

**Me: Aaron... _is_ me.**

**All 4: What?**

**Me: It was a way to put myself in the anime. Aaron is basically how I'd see myself if I were in the Pokémon series. Though the only similarity would be our hair color, I still made him from myself. So everything I make Aaron do in the story is something that I'd personally do if I were in there.**

**Aaron: Wait, so if you were here, you'd be the one getting made whenever Misty is insulted?**

***I only nod***

**Misty: Well thank you, AzureKite4.**

**Me: Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, here's the next chapter. This time we make a somewhat large change in the history of Pokémon.**

**Brock: The second battle against Sabrina, right?**

**Me: Well, second and third, but yeah. The one where you and Misty were turned into dolls.**

***Brock and Misty remember that moment***

**Misty: That was just creepy.**

**Me: Well, as I said, there will be a change.**

**Ash: Someone else becomes a doll? *quietly repeating "please not me, please not me"***

**Me: Yes, but it's not you, Ash. Sorry Brock, but you're still going to be a doll.**

**Brock: Aw man.**

**Misty: But wait, then that means...**

***Misty looks at Aaron***

**Me: Right. Aaron will be turned into a doll instead of you, Misty.**

**Aaron: But why?**

**Me: You'll have to wait and see. Now onto the chapter. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

**  
**

-Chapter 18: Episode 23: Haunter Versus Kadabra-

After their adventure in Lavender Town, and the two new Ghost Pokémon additions to Ash's and Aaron's team, the four trainers reached Saffron City and look over it from a hill.

"We made it, Pikachu!" Ash cheered.

"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse said happily.

"And this time, I know we're gonna win," Ash said confidently. "Right, Brock?"

"Uhh… If you… say so," Brock said nervously, having backed away from the others.

"What's the matter?" Ash asked.

"I think maybe I'm allergic to ghosts," Brock said as an excuse. "Kinda feel sorta dizzy."

'_I highly doubt that's possible,_' Aaron thought to himself as he saw how scared the oldest trainer was.

"You're not scared, are you?" Ash asked, completely pointing out the obvious.

"Please! He couldn't be afraid of such a cute little thing," Misty said as Haunter floated around Ash, Misty and Aaron.

Haunter just nuzzled against Misty, thanking her for the compliment as the red-haired girl giggled.

"Cute?" Brock repeated, slowly backing away. "Right."

Misty continued to giggle until Haunter licked her face. Misty assumed the Ghost Pokémon was being nice, but Haunter accidentally used its Lick attack and it started to paralyze the girl.

"It just crossed the cute line," Misty said before passing out.

"Haunter, you paralyzed her!" Ash yelled at the Ghost Pokémon.

Aaron just walked over to Misty to check on her.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it. Misty gave him a compliment, so maybe he was trying to be nice. That Lick attack must have been by accident," Aaron said, but Haunter had already started crying.

"Hey, Haunter, It's really not that big a deal," Ash said, causing Aaron's eye to twitch just once as the brown-haired boy wondered why Ash would say it was no big deal for Misty to be paralyzed.

Then, almost immediately, Haunter cheered up and started laughing.

'_That sneaky Pokémon. It was faking just to get attention,_' Aaron thought to himself as he looked at how quickly Haunter recovered.

"Haunter…" Ash said as the Ghost Pokémon slowly floated towards the hat-wearing trainer and Ash just pointed towards Saffron City. "In Saffron City, there's a trainer named Sabrina who uses Psychic Pokémon. Ghost Pokémon are strong against Psychic Pokémon, right? Will you help me defeat her?"

"Haunt haunt haunt!" Haunter laughed as it nodded.

"Yesss!" Ash shouted as he turned around to face Saffron City as though to make a declaration. "That Marsh Badge is as good as mine!"

After Misty recovered from her paralysis, and Brock got over his fear of Haunter, the four trainers made their way to the Saffron City Pokémon Center to get some rest. The following morning, the four trainers and Haunter stood outside of Sabrina's gym.

'_That Sabrina sure showed us up last time. She made Pikachu and me look like a joke,_' Ash thought to himself as he remembered how badly outclassed Pikachu was against Kadabra during their last match against Sabrina. "This time, the joke's on her."

But Haunter, who was floating next to Ash, was looking around in confusion, which caused Ash to do the same for one reason.

"Hey… Brock? Misty? Aaron?" Ash asked, wondering where his friends had gone since they were standing beside him anymore.

"Go give it your best shot, Ash!" Misty cheered while she waved two flags, which she pulled from who knows where, that had Ash's face on them.

"Yeah! Let us know how it turns out," Brock cheered while holding a sign which said "GO ASH GO!!" and even Pikachu was holding a little sign that said "GOOD LUCK!".

Since Misty, Brock and Pikachu had practically everything, Aaron didn't see any reason to hold a sign, but instead just gave Ash a thumbs up. The actions of not just his three human friends, but even his best Pokémon friend, made Ash nearly fall over.

"Stop goofing around!" Ash shouted at the four of them after regaining his composure. "Aren't you even coming in with me?"

"Last time, she wanted to play with us and pretend that we were her bowling pins, remember?" Misty asked Ash as she, Brock, Aaron and Pikachu remembered back to when they were nearly squashed by the white ball the little girl threw.

"And she almost bowled a strike," Brock said.

"Now that I've got Haunter, that won't happen again," Ash said as he pointed his thumb at the Ghost Pokémon floating beside him.

"I wouldn't be too sure, Ash," Brock said in a rather worried tone. "What if Haunter's the one controlling _you_?"

Ash had a worried look on his face as he imagined what being controlled by the Ghost/Poison Pokémon would be like, but instead he just shrugged it off.

"Oh, me and Haunter are pals," Ash said with a smile on his face while Haunter just laughed and nodded continuously in agreement.

"Haunter isn't worried at all," Misty said in a weirded-out tone.

"I-it's pretty confident," Brock said.

'_But somehow I don't think Haunter is much of a fighter. After what happened at the Pokémon Tower, it seems more like haunter wants to play and pull pranks,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"You got nothing to worry about. With Haunter on my side, I'm guaranteed to win that badge. Now, wish me luck," Ash said.

"Good luck," Misty, Aaron and Brock said.

Ash then grabbed three PokéBalls from his belt and tossed them into the air.

"Charmander! Squirtle! Bulbasaur!" Ash called out as the three balls opened up to reveal each Pokémon, calling out the respective names once materialized. "Are you all ready to face Sabrina?"

The three Pokémon Ash called out said their names in agreement as they stood in front of Ash while the hat-wearing trainer pointed at the doors of Sabrina's gym. The group of four trainers and five Pokémon entered Sabrina's gym and walked to the battle hall. Ash took his place at his side of the battlefield with Haunter floating beside him.

"Sabrina, I've come back to your gym to demand a rematch, " Ash said.

"Another battle? Even after my Kadabra beat up your Pikachu during our last match?" the little girl sitting on Sabrina's lap asked. "You don't have a chance."

"This time you won't have it so easy," Ash said confidentally.

"If you lose, you'll have to play with me again," the little girl said as Sabrina used her psychic powers to levitate herself off her chair and to her side of the battlefield.

"Go, Kadabra," Sabrina commanded as the PokéBall in the little girl's hands floated up and shot towards the arena floor.

The ball opened and the powerful Kadabra materialized from the light.

"And I choose as my Pokémon… Haunter! Go, Haunter!" Ash called.

"So… you captured a Ghost Pokémon, did you?" Sabrina asked.

But Haunter was nowhere to be seen, even after Ash had called it.

"Where is it?" Sabrina asked rather calmly.

Kadabra just looked around in case Haunter would make a sneak attack.

"Uh… Haunter?" Ash wondered and looked to his left where Haunter had been floating only to see the Ghost was missing, then Ash started to panic as he tried to find Haunter. "Hey, Haunter! Where'd you go? Will Haunter please report to the floor?"

Aaron just sweatdropped, wondering where Ash got the binoculars and the megaphone.

"Looks like the Ghost Pokémon got spooked," Brock guessed.

"Haunter is not the most dependable Pokémon in the world," Misty said as she rested her head in her hand in slight annoyance.

"I should've known," Aaron said, causing Brock and Misty to look at him in confusion. "Haunter didn't appear to be a battler, but more of a prankster."

"Maybe that's why it was scared of Gastly," Brock said.

Aaron just nodded as he put his hand on the PokéBall that contained his new Pokémon.

"Haunter…" Ash started to sulk and whine.

"Enough stalling. Send out your Pokémon at once, or you'll all go back to the toy box," Sabrina said almost threateningly.

All four trainer's flinched.

"Great! Back where we started!" Brock yelled at Ash.

"Forget haunter. Send out another one," Misty told the raven-haired boy.

"Right!" Ash agreed and turned to his other Pokémon. "Pikachu, you--"

But Pikachu just froze up before running backwards to the wall, remembering what happened last time.

"Pikachu?" Ash wondered, but then turned to his other three Pokémon. "Charmander! Bulbasaur! Squirtle!"

The three Pokémon did the same as Pikachu. If Pikachu had a reason to be scared then the three of them might as well be frightened too. The four Pokémon then shook their heads, not wanting to fight.

"You… won't help me?" Ash asked his Pokémon.

"Well, are you ready yet?" Sabrina asked.

"Ash, use my Pokémon!" Aaron called out to the hat-wearing boy as he pulled Gastly's PokéBall off his belt.

"The challenger can only use his own Pokémon. If he uses another trainer's Pokémon, he will be disqualified and I'll get to play with you forever and ever," the little girl stated.

Aaron stopped himself before he could toss the ball to Ash.

"So what's it going to be?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah. Just a sec," Ash said nervously.

"The battle will begin now," Sabrina said, her eyes glowing a freakish yellow color.

"Uh… I quit!" Ash announced as he crossed his arms into an X. "Whoa!"

"Quit?" Sabrina repeated as Ash bolted out of the hall.

"Run for it!" Ash yelled, his four Pokémon following suit.

"Hey, wait for us!" Misty called out.

"Hurry!" Brock yelled as he, Misty and Aaron ran after Ash.

"Darn this screwy Gym Leader!" Aaron yelled as he ran.

As the four trainers and four Pokémon ran down the corridor toward the exit, the shutters slowly lowered to block the exit.

"The exit!" Ash yelled as the shutters closed and locked, preventing them from getting out.

"We're trapped!" Brock yelled as he, Misty and Aaron were still running.

"Tee-hee-hee!" the trainers heard someone giggle and looked back quickly to see the little girl in white floating after them.

The girl's eyes started to glow before they flashed and Brock, being the one farther behind, was hit and slowly turned into a stuffed doll.

"No, Brock!" Aaron yelled out.

"Brock!" Ash yelled.

Aaron chanced another look behind him to see the little girl's eyes starting to glow again, but he also noticed Misty was falling behind.

'_No way I'm letting her get Misty,_' Aaron thought to himself.

Earning gasps of shock from Ash and Misty, Aaron quickly turned around and grabbed Misty's arm.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked, fear in her voice.

Aaron didn't say anything as he turned back to face Ash.

"Catch!" Aaron yelled as he threw Misty at the hat-wearing boy.

Misty was tossed with all Aaron's strength and toppled into Ash, sending him to the ground as the little girl's eyes flashed and struck Aaron. Misty quickly got back up and turned around to see what was happening.

"Aaron!" Misty called out, but she covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened in fear as she watched her best friend become doll-ified by the strange little girl.

"What did you do to them?" Ash questioned in a demanding manner as he got back up to see both Brock and Aaron had been turned into dolls. "They're dolls!"

The little girl just giggled as she floated to the ground, using her psychic powers to pick up the Brock and Aaron dolls.

"Now I'm going to turn all of you into dolls," the little girl said as her eyes started to glow white again.

Ash's four Pokémon started to panic as Ash just stood there frozen and Misty still looked at the dolls of her friends in horror. The four Pokémon then tried to hide behind Ash.

"Hey, take is easy," Ash said in a poor attempt to try and calm down his Pokémon, then he looked up at the little girl again. "Please! Wait-- huh?"

Someone had appeared in front of Ash, his Pokémon and Misty. It was the same man who helped them last time.

"Hey, where'd you come from?" Ash asked the man.

"Sometimes you've got to retreat to win," the man said. "Teleportation!"

The man, as well as Ash, the four Pokémon, and Misty, were transported out of the building.

"He's back," Sabrina said calmly as she walked up to the little girl after the man disappeared with the two trainers and the four Pokémon.

The man reappeared in a park along with his passengers. Ash and his Pokémon crashed on the ground while Misty gently landed on her butt.

"Hey, Pikachu, I'm glad you're safe, but could you please get off my back?" Ash asked his yellow Pokémon.

Ash and his four Pokémon had landed in a pile, and on top of the man who saved them no less. The pile was the jogging man, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Ash and then Pikachu. Misty, however, had reappeared a few feet from the group.

"Will you all please get off mine?" the man asked.

After everyone got back up, Ash and the man sat on the bench to talk about Sabrina and what had happened to Brock and Aaron. Misty, however, was sitting against a tree, her eyes starting to water as what had happened to Brock and Aaron kept replaying in her mind.

'_Why? Why did he have to do that?_' Misty asked herself in her mind as she kept playing over and over the moment when Aaron grabbed her and threw her to Ash.

"Sabrina's the meanest trainer I ever met," Ash sighed.

"She wasn't always such a mischievous girl," the man said.

"You mean, you knew Sabrina before she changed?" Ash asked the man.

"Huh?" the man asked, but then waved a hand in defense. "Well, I've… I've heard stories."

The man started to tell Ash the story behind Sabrina, but what Ash didn't know was that the man was actually her father.

"Though she was very young, Sabrina became completely obsessed with her psychic training. She didn't want to make friends. All she wanted was to be left alone to develop her powers. Her parents tried to help, but Sabrina used her psychic powers to drive them away," the man said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. "The conflict caused Sabrina to split into two girls: The strong Pokémon trainer who is always causing trouble, and the lonely little girl who desperately desires to make friends. That doll that Sabrina always holds represents her true self, before her training, before she rejected her own heart."

The man passed the picture to Ash for the boy to have a quick look at.

"Sabrina had this picture of her family in her room," Ash pointed out. "If you have the same picture, then that must mean you're…"

"Uhh…" the man flinched. '_Does he know? He must've figured it out by now, after everything I've said. He must've figured out the truth about Sabrina and me. He must realize that I'm Sabrina's father._'

"Then that must mean you're a photographer!" Ash said, once more letting his stupidity get the better of him, causing the man to fall off the bench and onto the ground.

"Don't you see?" the man asked as he got back up. "Don't you get it?"

"Get what?" Ash asked.

"Never mind," the man said in defeat.

Misty, after pulling back her tears, had stood up and walked towards Ash and the man.

"Sabrina… She turned Aaron and Brock into dolls," Misty said, her eyes starting to water up again.

"Yeah. There's nothing we can do about that," the man said plainly as he sat back down on the bench.

"What are you talking about? There has to be some way to help them!" Misty yelled at the man.

"The only way to rescue your friends is to defeat Sabrina," the man said before turning to Ash. "Isn't that why you traveled to Lavender Town, to get a Ghost Pokeemon?"

"But Haunter's disappeared someplace," Ash said.

"Then you must find Haunter first. Without it, you'll never be able to defeat Sabrina and her Psychic Pokémon," the man stated.

"I guess not," Ash agreed before sighing in defeat.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Misty asked, having regained her composure and returned to her normal self. "Let's find Haunter and save our friends!"

Ash nearly fell off the bench when Misty yelled at him, but he nodded his head quickly in agreement. Not waiting for Ash to get up, Misty grabbed him by his jacket collar and dragged him off the bench and out of the park after Ash was able to return Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle to their PokéBalls. The two trainers and Pikachu started walking down the streets to look for Haunter.

"Pikachu, where do you think Haunter could be?" Ash wondered.

"Pika pika," the little mouse said, unsure how to exactly answer Ash's question.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you had gotten a more reliable Ghost Pokémon instead of Haunter, like Aaron's Gastly for example," Misty berated the boy, forcing a tear back as she remembered her doll-ified friend.

"Well I didn't know Haunter would pull this and I didn't have much choice since Haunter decided to follow me," Ash argued back.

"Then you could've asked Aaron to give you his Gastly before you entered the gym!" Misty returned fire.

"Again, I didn't know Haunter would run off!" Ash yelled at the girl.

The arguing between the two trainers stopped when they heard something crash into the pavement behind them.

""Huh? What was that?" Ash wondered.

Both trainers ran to the new hole in the sidewalk and looked in.

"Team Rocket?" Misty wondered.

Haunter then hovered down next to Ash, laughing as usual.

"Haunter, you stopped them from capturing Pikachu," Ash guessed.

Haunter just laughed and nodded in response.

"Way to go," Ash congratulated.

"Hold it!" Misty yelled and stomped in front of Haunter. "Why did you disappear from the battle like that? Because of you, our friends have been turned into dolls!"

Haunter didn't seem very phased by Misty's outburst, so Ash gently pushed her aside.

"Now let's get back to Sabrina's gym," Ash said to the Ghost.

Haunter just scratched its head as though it were thinking whether it really should or not.

"But you promised you'd help me battle Sabrina," Ash said, almost begging. "I can't beat her Psychic Pokémon without you."

Haunter was still thinking if it was worth the trouble to fight for Ash.

"Please! You can't let her make a fool out of me," Ash finally started to beg, but then Misty chose to step back in.

"Listen you! You're going to help fight Sabrina or I'm going to make you wish you never came with us!" Misty yelled ferociously at the Ghost Pokémon.

Haunter flinched and floated back a bit, slowly nodded to agree in helping Ash.

"Thanks, Haunter," Ash said, then he turned to face Misty. "And thanks, Misty. I don't think Haunter would've listened if you weren't here."

"Hmph. I'm still blaming you for what happened to Aaron and Brock since you picked such an unreliable Ghost Pokémon," Misty said angrily as she crossed her arms.

Back at Sabrina's gym, the doll versions of Brock and Aaron were seated on one of the couches in a dollhouse.

"What do you think's gonna happen to use, Aaron?" Brock asked.

Aaron didn't answer.

"Hey, can you even talk?" Brock asked, wondering if Aaron was all right.

"Yeah, I can. But I don't know how to answer your question, Brock," Aaron answered. "Besides, we're not the only ones in here."

"Huh?" Brock wondered.

"So you two were also affected by Sabrina's psychic powers?" a female voice asked, coming from a womanly doll sitting on a chair near the couch.

"Whoa! That other doll spoke!" Brock said in surprise.

"It's nice to have company. I'm Sabrina's mother," the woman said.

"Her mother?" Brock repeated.

"Why would Sabrina do this to you?" Aaron asked.

"Please don't think badly of Sabrina. She's really a good daughter," Sabrina's mother said.

But then the roof started to move until the little girl in white poked her head into the house.

"My new dolls are so cute!" the girl said. "What game shall I play first with my brand-new Brock and Aaron dolls? Maybe we can have tea."

"Sabrina, turn us back into humans right now!" Brock demanded.

"I challenge you to a gym battle, Sabrina! And if I win, you have to turn us back to normal!" Aaron yelled. '_Though you'd have to turn me to normal in the first place in order for me to even battle you._'

"But if I change you back, you'll just run away from me," the little girl said.

'_That's the idea,_' Aaron thought to himself and would be sweatdropping at the moment if he could.

"You have to stay as dolls. We'll play together all the time, and we'll al be friends forever," the girl said.

"Sabrina!" everyone heard someone call out and both Aaron and Brock knew it was Ash.

"I knew he'd be back," Sabrina said as she turned around to face her challenger.

Sabrina and Ash took their places on the battlefield while the girl in white put the Brock and Aaron dolls on Sabrina's chair and Misty just stood back to watch.

'_What's Misty doing here? I put myself in the path of the girl's power so Misty could get away,'_ Aaron thought to himself before focusing his attention on Ash. '_I guess she really believes Ash will win this time._'

"Have you returned for more humiliation?" Sabrina asked. "Haven't you realized that you'll never defeat me?"

"Brock and Aaron are my friends, and I can't leave 'em behind, not even if you're gonna turn me, Misty and all my Pokémon into dolls!" Ash stated.

"Ash, are you nuts?" Misty yelled at the boy.

"Ash!" Brock tried to yell.

"Get out of here now!" Aaron attempted to shout to his friends.

"If you want to be a doll, too, I'll be glad to play with you. It'll be a one-on-one battle. Sabrina's Pokémon will be…" the little girl started as the PokéBall flew to the flied and opened to once again reveal Kadabra.

"And for my Pokémon, I choose Haunter!" Ash called out.

"Haunter? " Sabrina repeated.

"Well, where is your Pokémon?" the little girl asked.

"Oh, no. Not again!" Ash started to panic.

"This is going to be bad," Misty said to herself quietly.

"Why don't you forfeit?" Sabrina asked.

"That way I'll have new dolls to play with," the little girl said.

Ash stepped back a bit, still panicking.

"Haunter. Haunter! You promised me. Where'd you go? Please stop hiding! Haunter. Haunter!" Ash cried out.

"This time you won't escape," Sabrina stated.

"Hee hee! My new dolly!" the little girl started to giggle.

"Dolly?" Ash repeated, but then just sulked as he sat on the floor.

Misty just stood there and prepared for the worst.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it ran onto the field.

"Pikachu! You don't stand a chance against Kadabra. You'll get beat up again. Come back," Ash tried to call his Pokémon back.

"Pi. Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it turned to face Ash.

"You don't want Sabrina to make me a doll?" Ash asked, trying to translate what Pikachu said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said as it nodded before turning back to face Kadabra.

"You want to fight for me?" Ash asked, just to be certain.

"Pika!" the mouse nodded.

"Oh, thank you, Pikachu," Ash said, his eyes getting watery. "You're a real pal."

Pikachu and Kadabra just stared each other down.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu charged the electricity and released the blast towards its opponent.

"Kadabra, Teleport," Sabrina said.

Kadabra disappeared from where it stood, dodging the attack and continued to do so as Pikachu continued to fired Thunder Shock attacks.

"Kadabra, Psybeam," Sabrina commanded.

Kadabra teleported in front of Pikachu and its eyes started to glow red, causing Pikachu to lean back from the attack until it tumbled backwards and rolled towards Ash.

"Try to hang on, Pikachu," Ash encouraged his Pokémon. "Come back at Kadabra with a Thunderbolt."

Pikachu slowly got back up and released a more powerful blast of electricity at the Psychic Pokémon. The blast flew up to the ceiling before crashing down on Kadabra, hitting the Psychic Pokémon full-force.

"That's it!" Ash cheered in an early victory.

"Recover," Sabrina ordered.

The damage Kadabra received from Pikachu's Thunderbolt was instantly healed and it appeared just as it had when it was first called out.

"Whoa…" Ash said in shock.

"It's impossible to win," Sabrina stated.

The little girl in white just started to snicker, but then Haunter suddenly appeared in front of Sabrina.

"Haunter?" Ash wondered, not believing his eyes.

"What's Haunter doing here now?" Misty asked.

"Haunter!" the Ghost Pokémon said as it flew around Sabrina before laughing.

"Two against one's not fair!" the little girl said.

Then the man from before teleported beside Ash.

"It is just playing around on its own. Haunter is not battling against you, so it isn't against the rules," the man explained.

Haunter just started to make faces at Sabrina, but the young woman didn't even move a muscle as she watched the Ghost Pokémon curiously. Haunter then used its tongue to pull its eyes off its head and juggled them on its tongue, but still Sabrina did nothing but watch. Haunter then put its hands in its mouth as if trying to grab something until it pulled out a bomb and held it in its hands, earning gasps from Ash, Misty and the man in the jogging suit. The fuse slowly burned down and Sabrina actually had a worried look on her face while Haunter continued to smile. The bomb exploded, the smoke engulfing Haunter, Sabrina and the little girl.

"Huh?!" Ash, Misty and the man gasped, wondering what had happened and if Haunter, Sabrina and the girl were ok.

The smoke cleared and Haunter was still laughing, despite being covered in dirt. Sabrina was also covered in dirt from the explosion, but she just looked at Haunter. But then a smile slowly crept onto Sabrina's face, which the man in the jogger's suit noticed.

"Uh! She smiled," the man said.

Sabrina was then in a fit of laughs, somehow amused by Haunter's little joke. Haunter joined in the laugher soon after.

"Is that Sabrina laughing?" Ash asked, confused.

'_What's going on?_' Misty thought to herself, confused at what just happened.

"Ever since she started her telekinetic training as a little girl, I've never seen Sabrina laugh like this," the man said as tears of joy flowed down his face. "I've never seen her so happy in her entire life."

"But if you've known Sabrina ever since she was a little girl, does that mean…" Ash started.

"Hmm. So you've figured it out, eh?" the man asked.

"You must've taken her baby pictures, too," Ash finished his sentence, again proving how thick his skull was and causing the man to fall to the floor in anime fashion.

"Just how dense can a person be?" the man shouted as he jumped back to his feet.

'_You have no idea,_' Misty thought to herself as she looked as Ash with a blank look on her face.

"Ahem-hem! But I'm glad you came back. That Haunter has helped Sabrina rediscover the human part of he heart," the man said.

"What do you mean? Haunter was supposed to beat the Psychic Pokémon, and instead it's making friends with Sabrina! I'm gonna be a doll!" Ash shouted at the man.

"Hmpf! Look over there," the man said as he pointed at Kadabra, who was rolling on the floor laughing.

"I don't get it. It looks like Kadabra's in pain," Ash said.

"It's not in any pain. Kadabra and Sabrina are joined telepathically. Kadabra is rolling with laughter, just like Sabrina," the man said.

Ash couldn't believe his ears and his mouth dropped to the ground. Sabrina and Haunter continued to laugh as the little girl in white quickly smiled before fading away. At the same time, Brock and Aaron were returned to their normal selves.

"Brock! Aaron!" Ash called out.

Misty just looked up at her two friends, her eyes starting to get watery again.

"Since Kadabra is no longer able to battle, I officially declare Pikachu the winner!" Sabrina's father announced.

Once Haunter and Sabrina were done their laughing fit, and Sabrina's mother return to normal, the four trainers got back together, though after Misty regained herself. Ash collected his Marsh Badge and the four trainers left Sabrina's gym to continue their journey.

* * *

**Me: Well, that's the chapter.**

**Misty: Th-thank you for protecting me, Aaron.**

**Aaron: Misty, I'd do anything to... wait a second.**

***Aaron looks at me***

**Me: I'm not going to say anything.**

**Aaron: I wasn't going to say that.**

**Me: Oh. Then yes, that is something I personally would've done... If I were your age, Aaron.**

**Aaron: Then why not name me after you?**

**Me: You are.**

**All 4: Huh?**

**Me: I gave you my middle name. But that's besides the point. Now I have some news. I will be skipping a LOT of these next episodes since I couldn't find anywhere to fit Aaron in for a big role and I know my readers/reviewers get on my case when he's given a small role. So whichever episode I decide to turn into a chapter next, I'll put as much flashback for what had happened, importantly, within the show.**

**Ash: You're not gonna skip my battle with Ericka, are you?**

**Me: As funny as that episode was to see you dressed up like a girl just to get into the gym, I will have to. It concentrates too heavily on you trying to get in, so I can't fit Aaron into it. And I was actually surprised that Brock didn't start flirting with all the girls in Ericka's gym. Seriously, you had such opportunities, Brock. How were you able to keep your cool?**

**Brock: Remember though, it isn't until much later that I start doing that.**

**Me: Hm... I guess that's true. Alright, enough rambling. Please R&R, everyone!**


	19. Primeape Goes Bananas

**Me: So here's the next chapter. And before Ash gets on my case about this, I'm doing the Primeape episode because one of my readers/reviewers gave me an idea to use. Thank you, _The Duelist of Dawn_.**

**Ash: So you're doing this episode as a chapter. Are you gonna do the next one as well?**

**Me: Yep. And thanks to _Zefri012_ for giving me an idea to use for it. But since it doesn't look like there's much to talk about here, let's get on with the story. Ash, if you would.**

**Ash: Fine. AzureKite4 does NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 19: Episode 24: Primeape Goes Bananas-

After Ash's gym battle against Sabrina in Saffron City, Ash and his friends continue towards the next city, but decide to stop for a break in an open valley. While Ash went off to use a phone that was just there for whatever reason, Brock made some snacks for himself, Misty, Aaron and Pikachu. It didn't take very long before Ash came back, but he seemed depressed. Misty was the first to notice Ash's return.

"You look kind of down, Ash," Misty said to the young trainer.

"Huh?" Ash said as he looked up at his friends.

"Have a doughnut. That always cheers me up," Misty said.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu said in agreement.

"These doughnuts are great! Jelly-filled are my favorite. Nothing beats a jelly-filled doughnut," Brock said as Ash walked up to him. "Huh?"

"I just heard Gary has five badges," Ash sulked.

"I get it. He's upset because he's falling behind," Misty said.

"I don't get why he's so upset. He's only behind by _one_ badge," Aaron said as he took a bit of his doughnut.

"The next town we come to is Celadon City. Isn't there supposed to be a gym there?" Ash asked Brock.

"There sure is. All we've gotta do is follow this road," Brock said as he pointed down the road. "Celadon City is only a day's walk from here-- Even less if we keep up a fast pace."

Ash just looked down the road before turn his hat backwards.

"There's no way those guys are gonna win," Ash declared.

"Just remember, Ash. Unlike all the other wannabe trainers out there, you've gotta make it to the Pokémon league your own way," Misty stated.

"Right. Remember, it's quality over quantity, especially if you've got lots of different Pokémon," Brock added in. "Then they'll help you catch others."

"Yeah, that's it. Catch… lots of Pokémon!" Ash shouted as he stuck out his fist.

"He'll never learn," Misty said.

"And you're hoping he will?" Aaron asked.

"I didn't ask you," Ash said.

"Pika?" Pikachu wondered as it looked over towards a moving bush.

"Mankey," a voice said as a face poked out of the bush.

"Oh! It's a Pokémon!" Ash said.

"Ash, just about anything that isn't human is a Pokémon," Aaron said.

However, Ash didn't seem to listen as he pulled out his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokémon.

"Mankey. A Pig Monkey Pokémon of the Fighting-type. Known for its superior footwork, it packs a powerful punch," Dexter said.

Mankey then jumped out of the bush and hopped over towards Brock.

"Maybe it wants a doughnut," Brock said as he watched Mankey bounce around him.

Brock grabbed a doughnut from the plate and held it out to the Mankey. Mankey sniffed the doughnut as Pikachu walked up to it.

"Pika?" Pikachu said as it took a bite of its doughnut to show Mankey it was perfectly fine.

Mankey sniffed the doughnut Brock held out a few more times before grabbing it and running off onto a rock to eat it in peace.

"I think it likes it," Ash said.

"That doughnut is my own special recipe. No artificial ingredients," Brock said.

"A Fighting Pokémon. That'll really help me in battle," Ash said to himself as he reached for an empty PokéBall, ignoring what Brock had said.

"Hold on. You're not gonna start by throwing a PokéBall at it?" Misty asked.

"There's no way I'm gonna miss this chance," Ash said as he held the PokéBall in front of himself.

"Just leave him be, Misty. If Ash messes up then he only has himself to blame," Aaron said as he sat back to watch.

"I guess you're right," Misty said.

"Mankey, you're mine now!" Ash shouted as he threw the PokéBall.

Mankey looked up, noticing Ash throw the ball. In retaliation, Maneky threw the doughnut it was eating. The PokéBall and doughnut hit each other with the POkéBall drawing the doughnut in with the red light. The ball flew back into Ash's hand and opened up to reveal the doughnut.

"It's a doughnut!" Ash said in surprise.

"A Doughnut Pokémon?" Misty asked, just to humor the young boy.

"Hey Ash, try finding some more Food Pokémon and we can have a feast," Aaron said as he started to laugh, but then noticed everyone was glaring at him. "Right, that was a bad joke."

"Very," the other three trainers said.

Mankey then jumped down from the rock and entered a fighting stance, finally opening its eyes to show they were blood-red in color.

"Looks to me like you got it pretty angry," Misty said as she and Aaron jumped down from the rock they were sitting on.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Ash asked as he held out the Pokédex again.

"Although Mankey is usually calm, it does have a bad temper," the Pokédex said.

'_Well what do you know? Ash and Mankey have something in common,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Once Mankey begins to Thrash, stopping it is impossible," the Pokédex continued.

"What does it mean by _Thrash_?" Ash wondered with a worried expression on his face.

"I think it means that!" Aaron shouted as he pointed at Mankey.

The other three trainers looked up and saw Mankey charge at them. The three trainers yelled before running away from Mankey as fast as they could with the Pig Monkey Pokémon right behind them.

"You should've let it finish that doughnut, Ash!" Misty yelled at the young trainer. "Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"

"She never mentioned Mankeys," Ash answered.

"I shouldn't have made 'em taste so good!" Brock said.

"Your homemade doughnuts are our only hope. Maybe more doughnuts will stop it," Ash suggested.

"Well, it's worth a try! PokéBall!" Brock shouted as he immediately stopped, but caused the other three trainers to fall on their faces. "Oh, sorry. Doughnut go!"

Brock threw the doughnut at Mankey, but the Pokémon just punched it to pieces.

"That didn't work!" Ash said.

"I wasted a doughnut!" Brock whined.

"How about less whining and more running?" Aaron suggested as he took off with the other three trainers right behind him, but Misty tripped on a rock and fell over, causing Aaron to stop and look back. "Misty!"

Aaron reached for a PokéBall as Mankey got closer to her. But instead of attacking Misty, Mankey jumped right over her.

"Huh?" Misty said, wondering why Mankey wasn't attacking her.

Mankey had jumped into the air and latched itself onto Ash's face, punching him repeatedly in the head and causing the trainer to fall over.

"Are you ok, Ash?" Brock asked the hat-wearing boy as Misty and Aaron ran next to the oldest trainer.

"Of course I'm not ok!" Ash yelled as Mankey continued to attack him.

Once the cloud of dust that surrounded Ash and Mankey dissipated, Ash was flat on the ground with his hat gone and Mankey was nowhere to be seen.

"I surrender," Ash said weakly.

The other three trainers looked up to see Mankey hopping away and up a tree while holding Ash's hat. The Pig Monkey Pokémon then put the hat on its head as it bounced on the top of the tree. Ash just groaned as he tried to stand sit up straight.

"That Mankey sure beat you up big time," Brock said.

"Are you ok?" Misty asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked as Ash rubbed his sore head.

"Where'd my hat go?" Ash wondered as he didn't feel his hat.

Misty just pointed up the tree Mankey was in.

"Mankey took and now it's wearing it," Aaron said.

Ash then ran over to the tree.

"You little thief! Gimme back my hat!" Ash shouted.

Just to humor the boy, Mankey did its best to impersonate Ash. The Fighting-type turned the hat backwards before pretending to throw a PokéBall. This action angered Ash.

"You can get another hat, Ash," Misty said.

"It's not the hat. It's the principle," Ash growled.

"Hold it. You're just going to get beat up again!" Misty shouted to Ash as the boy stomped towards the tree.

"It's mine!" Ash said as clung to the tree.

"What's so great about that hat?" Misty asked.

"I can't replace that hat!" Ash shouted. "I won it at the official Pokémon League Expo. Don't you know how tough it is to get one of those hats?"

"An official expo hat?" Brock wondered.

"Oh…" both Brock and Misty said together as they realized what Ash was going on about.

The commercial concerning the hat started to play in Brock's and Misty's heads.

"It's official," was all Brock said.

"I didn't know it was an official Pokémon League hat," Misty said. "I remember I entered the same contest, too."

"I had to send in about a million postcards to win that hat!" Ash yelled.

"No wonder I didn't win. I only sent in one," Misty said in embarrassment.

"If you want one then I can give you one of mine, Misty," Aaron said as he sat on the ground to watch how amusing this little battle between Ash and Mankey would be.

"One of?" Misty repeated. "Wait, you entered it, too?"

"Yeah, and I won just like Ash did. Of course, I only sent one postcard for kicks. I didn't expect to win. But when I checked the mail, there was a box for the hat. I was surprised when I got two of them, so I sent a letter back asking about it. The return letter actually said that since I was the first name they pulled, they sent a second hat as a kind of congrats," Aaron answered.

"Lucky little…" Ash muttered to himself as he continued to climb the tree.

"So if you still want one of those hats, I can give you one of mine when we get back to Cerulean," Aaron offered.

"Uh, thanks," Misty said.

"Almost got it…" Ash said as he nearly reached the top of the tree.

Unfortunately, Mankey chose that moment to hit Ash in the head again and send the trainer crashing back to the ground.

"Well, hello there, chumps," the four trainers heard someone say.

They looked up to see it was Jessie of Team Rocket along with James and Meowth as usual.

"Team Rocket!" Misty said.

"What are you doing here?" Brock asked.

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Meowth asked.

Mankey had jumped down from the tree and started to inspect Team Rocket.

"Buzz off!" James said as he kicked Mankey, sending the little Fighting-type flying into a bush.

"I wish he hadn't done that!" Brock shouted as Misty and Aaron had worried looks on their faces.

"Still trying to capture Pikachu?" Misty asked.

"We just want to borrow it… permanently," Jessie answered.

"Your situation is hopeless. Hand over Pikachu or else!" James demanded.

"Or else what?" Aaron asked.

"To protect the world from devastation…" Jessie started the motto.

"To unite all peoples within our nation…" James continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said, jumping in for his line.

"I'm having a major hat crisis," Ash groaned as he slowly got back up finally. "Could you try to steal Pikachu some other time?"

"Now's the perfect time," Jessie said. "You're obviously too pooped to protect your Pikachu."

"If you guys don't get outta here fast, you're gonna get as whipped as Ash did," Brock stated.

"By who?" Meowth asked.

"By Mankey," Brock answered.

"What's a Mankey?" Jessie wondered.

"I guess that thing I kicked out of the way," James said.

The two members of Team Rocket turned around where James kicked the Mankey, only to have looks of fear on their faces when they saw how angry Mankey looked.

"Hey, he looks kinda like Aaron does when he gets mad," Ash pointed out, only to be punched in the head by the brown-haired boy.

"This is no time to be joking around, Ash," Aaron said.

Mankey then exploded in a flash of white light as it started to grow in size. Its tail completely disappeared, but metal cuffs appeared around its wrists and ankles.

"It-- it-- it-- it evolved!" Jessie and James said together in fear.

"What's that?" Misty wondered.

"Whatever it is, it looks really angry," Aaron said, pointing out the obvious as Ash pulled out his Pokédex.

"Primeape. If you make eye contact with this evolved form of Mankey, it will chase you forever!" the red machine said.

"That doesn't sound good," Aaron said.

"Ha. This furball? That's ridiculous," Jessie said. "Now let's capture Pikachu. Go, Ekans!"

"And go, Koffing!" James called out as both he and Jessie threw their PokéBalls.

The balls opened up to reveal the purple snake and purple gas ball. Pikachu just stood ready for a fight.

"Come on!" Jessie shouted, but then Primeape jumped at her and kicked her towards the four trainers. "Aah!"

Everyone moved out of the way, causing Jessie to crash face-first into a boulder.

"No!" both James and Meowth shouted in horror.

"How dare you damage my perfection!" Jessie seethed once she was able to get out of the rock. "Now you'll pay! Ekans, Koffing, never mind Pikachu! Get that Primeape!"

The two Pokémon changed direction and flew right at the Fighting-type.

"But we came for Pikachu," Meowth said.

"Team Rocket always puts beauty before duty," James said before grabbing Meowth. "Come on!"

All the members of Team Rocket jumped at Primeape and started to fight with the Pokémon.

"Now's our chance!" Misty said as she and Brock grabbed Ash and dragged him off with Aaron and Pikachu right behind them.

"Oh… My hat!" Ash shouted as he saw his hat just lying on the ground.

Pikachu stopped running, turned around, and ran for the hat while Primeape stood on top of the pooped-out Team Rocket victoriously. Primeape then noticed Pikachu near the hat and jumped off Team Rocket to land right between the yellow mouse and the hat.

"Don't look at it in the eye, Pikachu!" Misty shouted.

Pikachu just cowered, covering its head. But curiosity started to get the better of Pikachu as the mouse slowly looked up at Primeape until it eventually made eye contact. However, Primeape didn't attack Pikachu, but the mouse didn't want to take any chances and started to back away. Instead, Primeape grabbed the hat and put it on its head, now seemingly happier.

"It's got my hat!" Ash yelled.

"And it never sent in one postcard," Misty said.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu did as told and released the Electric attack on the giant furball.

"Nice work!" Ash cheered.

But instead of damaging the Primeape, the Thunder Shock seemed to make it mad as it stomped the ground.

"Now what'll we do?" Misty wondered.

"That attack made it even madder," Ash said.

"Wait a minute. I have a theory," Brock said, earning the attention of the three trainers. "Primeape's not trying to steal your hat. It's scared of us. When it was a Mankey, you tried to capture it. Then James kicked it. I think it took your hat so it could get a little attention, because it's lonely all by itself."

"You really think so?" Aaron wondered, but wasn't so sure on Brock's little guess.

"Be careful," Misty said as Brock walked towards Primeape.

"Now, everything's gonna be fine," Brock said to Primeape as the Pokémon continued to snarl and stomp on the ground. "Give me a smile, buddy."

Brock put one of Primeape's arms around him for a small hug like Primeape was some guy in a cartoon character costume at an amusement park. Primeape just had a confused look on its face, but then proceeded to beat up Brock.

"Hey, quit it! Knock it off! That hurts!" Brock yelled in pain. "Let me go! Stop! Stop!"

Brock was confused when Primeape stopped, but what Brock didn't know was that Primeape was standing right in front of the squinty-eyed trainer. Brock then looked up and immediately made eye contact with Primeape, which caused the Pokémon to hit Brock with an uppercut to the chin, sending the aspiring breeder airborne.

"I think Brock needs a new theory," Misty said as she, Ash and Aaron looked up and saw Brock flying.

"Guess so," Ash said as the three of them watched Brock crash into the ground.

Ash then turned around and pointed the Pokédex at Primeape again.

"Once a Primeape begins its strongest attack-- Trash-- it goes completely out of control," the machine said.

"I think we're in big trouble," Misty said.

"I think you're right," Aaron agreed.

Ash just looked up to see what the two Cerulean trainers were talking about, only to see Primeape charge at them. The three trainers yelled before running off as fast as they could once again. The three trainers ended up running over Team Rocket while Primeape just mowed through them. Primeape continued to chase the three trainers and Pikachu into a valley.

"If we split up, maybe we can lose it!" Ash yelled.

"Good idea! Misty, you take the next right!" Aaron shouted.

"Ok!" the red-haired girl agreed, taking a right turn to the next path while Ash and Aaron kept running straight.

However, Primeape kept chasing after the two trainers and Pikachu.

"Why's it still chasing us?!" Ash asked.

"I'll take the next turn! If anything, it'll follow one of us!" Aaron suggested.

"Right!" Ash agreed.

At the next corner, Aaron went left and escaped Primeape's fury. But Primeape continued to chase down Ash.

"Aah!" Ash yelled, wondering in his head why Primeape was still chasing _him_.

Aaron looked around the corner to see Ash and Primeape run into the distance.

"Well I guess it worked, sort of. It _is_ only chasing one of us now," Aaron said to himself.

The brown-haired boy then looked back at where he and Ash were running from to see Misty and Brock running to catch up.

"Hey! Over here!" Aaron called out to his friends.

"Aaron, you're ok!" Misty said as she and Brock stopped next to him.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure if Ash will be," Aaron said.

"Then let's hurry before something happens," Brock said.

"Right," both Aaron and Misty said together in agreement.

The three trainers then took off to catch up with Ash and Primeape. The three of them finally arrived where Ash was, only to see him trying to get out of a hole in the road with Primeape looking down at him and Ash looking up at Primeape.

"Huh? Ash!" Misty shouted.

"Professor Oak's right," Ash said as he climbed out of the hole and stood up, holding out a PokéBall. "No more games! I'm gonna capture you, Primeape!"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Misty asked the boy. "Primeape is too dangerous to capture, Ash."

"Just forget the hat!" Brock shouted.

"It's not that. It's because I want to be a Pokémon Master. A real master would never let any Pokémon get away," Ash declared.

"He's always trying to sound tough," Misty said.

"That's just how he is. All we can do is watch what happens I guess," Aaron said.

"Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash called out as he threw a PokéBall. "Soak its head with your Water Gun!"

The ball opened to reveal the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. Squirtle did as told and shot out the Water Gun, but it didn't do anything to Primeape.

"Waah!" Misty shouted and jumped behind Aaron in case Primeape went crazy again.

"Squirtle, return!" Ash called as he grabbed another PokéBall. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

Ash threw the ball and the Seed Pokémon appeared.

"Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf now!" Ash ordered.

Bulbasaur did as told and shot multiple leaves at Primeape, but the Pig Monkey Pokémon just punched the leaves apart. This time Brock and Aaron looked worried along with Misty.

"Bulbasaur, return! Charmander, go!" Ash called out as he called Balbasaur back and threw another PokéBall.

The ball opened to reveal the Lizard Pokémon which immediately spewed a Flamethrower attack at Primeape and continued to do so, but Primeape just dodged each shot. Once Primeape got close it, it punched Charmander right in the face. Primeape didn't stop though as it continued to punch Charmander.

"Charmander!" Ash called out as Charmander continued to get beaten. "Charmander…"

But as Charmander continued to get hit, the flame on its tail grew in size, which Ash noticed.

"The flame on its tail! What's happening?" Ash said in surprised as he pulled out his Pokédex again.

"Charmander's special attack: Rage. It gains more power the more it is attacked. It will continued to fight until its opponent falls," the Pokédex explained.

"All right!" Ash cheered. "I didn't know it had that kind of power! Charmander, go!"

Charmander just leaped forward, but Primeape countered and resumed to beat the Lizard Pokémon. In retaliation, Charmander bit down onto Primeape's fist. Primeape then tossed Charmander into the air, but the Fire-type countered by spewing another Flamethrower at the Fighting-type. Primeape jumped at Charmander to evade the flames. Charmander started to charge another attack, but Pikachu noticed this and also noticed that Primeape was still wearing the hat.

"Burn now, Charmander! Flamethrower attack!" Ash commanded as Pikachu ran into the battle to save the hat.

Charmander released the built-up attack at Primeape as Pikachu jumped towards Primeape. Pikachu managed to get the hat off Primeape's head and land on the ground, running away just seconds before Charmander's attack engulfed Primeape. Primeape tried to fight back, but the Flamethrower did too much damage, causing Primeape to fall over while Charmander stood triumphantly.

"Good work, Charmander," Ash congratulated. "I'll take over now. PokéBall, go!"

Ash threw an empty PokéBall at Primeape and the red light sucked it in. The ball landed on the ground and started to shake, but eventually the light vanished to indicate a successful capture.

"Yes!" Ash cheered, but the ball started to move again. "Huh?"

Ash just watched as the ball continued to shake. The light stopped once again, but everyone remained on guard in case Primeape broke out. Ash ran up to the ball when it didn't start shaking again and he picked it up.

"Ha ha! All right! Primeape is mine!" Ash shouted as he struck a pose.

"You did it!" Brock congratulated as he, Misty and Aaron ran up to Ash.

"Congratulations!" Misty said.

"That was a close one, though," Aaron said.

"Chu," Pikachu said as it held out the hat.

"Thanks a lot, Pikachu," Ash said as he took his hat back and set it on his head.

"Don't forget us," the four trainers heard Jessie say.

The four of them looked towards the hole to see Team Rocket trying to climb out.

"So, it's the "hole" gang," Ash said in attempted humor.

"It's your fault we ended up in here!" Jessie shouted as she repeatedly hit the ground with her fist. "Where's Primeape?"

"Well, why don't you just see for yourself?" Ash asked as he grinned and threw the PokéBall into the hole.

Team Rocket watched the ball go into the hole and watched as it opened up. Primeape appeared out of the ball and started to pummel Team Rocket before sending them airborne.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaain…" Team Rocket shouted as they flew through the air.

"Primeape sure gave them a thrashing," Misty said.

"Well, at least now Primeape's doing the thrashing on our side. Welcome to the team, Primeape," Ash said.

But then Primeape turned around and socked Ash right in the face, sending the trainer to the ground with a black eye.

"Uhh! Primeape's good at thrashing, but it's got a lot to learn about team spirit," Ash said.

"A hat might help," Brock said.

"Might as well start on those postcards again," Aaron suggested.

"I'll do whatever it takes to become a Pokémon Master. Charmander, Primeape, return!" Ash called back his two Pokémon.

Once Ash recovered from Primeape's beating, Pikachu ran towards a cliff and pointed towards something. The four trainers ran over to see what had gotten Pikachu's attention.

"There's Celadon City!" Brock exclaimed.

"You know, if Primeape hadn't chased us, we wouldn't have gotten here as fast as we did," Misty said.

"I guess that's something we should be grateful to Primeape for," Aaron said.

"Way to go, Primeape. Now that I caught a new Pokémon, it's time to earn a badge," Ash declared.

The four trainers then started to look for a path down the cliff to continue towards Celadon City.

* * *

**Me: And there we have it.**

**Ash: WOO-HOO! I HAVE A PRIMEAPE!**

**Aaron: Ash sure gets excited whenever he catches a new Pokémon, doesn't he?**

**Misty: You have no idea. But thanks for offering a hat, Aaron.**

**Aaron: Sure. After all, I only need one. But I don't really wear hats anyway. Like I said, I only entered the contest just for the fun of it. I wasn't expecting to win.**

**Me: But it sucks that Brock had to get beat up. But Primeape's expression when Brock tried to hug it was just too funny.**

**Brock: Hardy-har-har.**

**Me: I'm not trying to be rude, Brock. It was funny. But at least you weren't seriously injured.**

**Brock: I guess. So now what?**

**Me: Now we close off and wait for the next chapter. Please R&R, everyone!**


	20. Pokémon Scentsation

**Me: Here we go, the next chapter and Ash's next gym match.**

**Ash: This one was embarrassing to get into.**

**Aaron: Why's that?**

**Brock: Ash disguised himself as a girl in order to sneak in.**

**Aaron: Wow. Who would've thought you'd sink so low, Ash?**

**Ash: I only did it because Team Rocket said they could get me in if I cut them out of a tree.**

**Aaron: So then what's so significant about having me in this chapter?**

**Me: Because one of your Pokémon will evolve. And because _Zefri012_ gave me a funny idea to use for this chapter concerning you.**

**Aaron: Ok then.**

**Me: So then, let's get this started. I do NOT own Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 20: Episode 25: Pokémon Scent-sation-

Upon arriving in Celadon City, Ash and his friends head for the Pokémon Center to have their Pokémon checked and healed. However, Aaron received news from the Nurse Joy that his Oddish had a strange sickness and that the only person who could help would be Celadon City's Gym Leader, of whom specializes in Grass-type Pokémon. The four trainers left the Pokémon Center to search for the Celadon gym. However, on their way towards the gym, Pikachu, Brock and Misty started to smell something.

"Something smells heavenly," Brock said.

"Perfume," Misty said.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ash asked.

Aaron decided to take a few sniffs to see what had gotten Brock and Misty's attention.

"Definitely perfume. And a lot of it," Aaron said.

"How do you know, Aaron?" Misty asked.

"Aside from the fact you said it was perfume, my sister uses so much of it that the smell is too overpowering," the brown-haired trainer answer.

"Hey…" Brock mumbled before wandering off.

"Wait, Brock. Where ya goin'?" Ash asked.

The three trainers followed after Brock only to find him with his face squished against a window.

"Hey…" Brock mumbled while still pressed against the glass.

"Who you makin' faces at, Brock?" Ash asked.

"My nose tells me that this is my kind of town," Brock said.

"Huh?" Ash asked in confusion.

As Brock looked back into the shop, Ash looked in through the window as well only to see three girls at the counter having a conversation.

"I think we should stay here awhile," Brock suggested, his face once against pressed right against the window.

"Well, if you want to waste your time," Ash said. "Misty, Pikachu, let's get movin'."

Ash turned to talk to the yellow mouse and the red-haired girl, only to see they weren't there.

"Misty? Pikachu?" Ash wondered.

"In there," Aaron said as he pointed through the window.

"Hmm?" Ash wondered and looked back into the shop to see the three girls who were at the counter were now attending to Misty.

While Misty was sampling the perfumes, Ash decided to walk in, along with Brock and Aaron.

"Don't buy it, Misty," Ash said. "Perfume's just a waste of money, and it stinks."

'_This won't be pretty,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Go away," Misty said as she glared at Ash.

"I resent that remark," a girl said.

"Huh?" both Ash and Misty wondered as they looked over at the girl.

The girl was wearing a red and blue kimono with cherry blossoms designed on the blue part and her hair was dark, but done up.

"The manager!" said the girl with light-green hair.

"Young man, are you accusing me of overcharging my costumers for inferior perfume?" the manager asked.

"No, ma'am, I meant all perfumes are a rip-off," Ash answered. "'Cause all they do is turn guys into zombies. Like this!"

Ash grabbed Brock who just seemed to be in a daze.

"Hi, what's your name?" Brock asked the manager.

The manager just smiled warmly at Brock, but then scowled at Ash.

" "P" for pretty, "e" for elegant, "r" for radiant, "f" for fun, "u" for urbane, "m" for mysterious, "e" for energy, and that spells?" the manager asked as she slowly walked towards Ash, jabbing her finger at him and causing him to back away.

"Perfume!" Misty answered.

"Right!" Brock shouted.

"I don't need that smelly junk to give me energy," Ash said, but Aaron was unfortunately standing next to him and keeping his mouth shut, which may have been the worst thing to do at this moment. "I'm full of it! I got tons more energy than I know what to do with."

"Why don't you use some of it to keep your mouth shut?" Misty hissed at Ash.

"If you object to our products so much, perhaps you should leave," the manager said to both Ash and Aaron. "Since we all sell perfume here, you must find us offensive."

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," said the girl with green hair.

"You insensitive little worms!" said the blonde girl.

"What did I say?" Ash asked.

"Whoa, hang on. I've got nothing against perfume!" Aaron said as he waved his arms defensively.

However, Aaron's words went unheard.

"Get out and don't come back!" the girls said as they literally kicked Ash and Aaron out of the store and onto the street.

"I don't want to come back," Ash stated as he quickly got back up. "I'm on my way to the Celadon City gym. Let's go, Aaron."

Ash then started to walk away as Aaron slowly got back up.

"I just _know_ Ash got me into trouble when I didn't do anything," Aaron said as he followed behind Ash. '_But it's true that I need to get to the gym and see the Gym Leader._'

Aaron grabbed the PokéBall off his belt which contained his sick Oddish.

'_Just hang on, Oddish,_' Aaron though to himself as he stared at the red and white sphere.

After several minutes of walking, Ash and Aaron arrived at the Celadon gym, which looked like a giant flower. Though upon walking up to the doors, the two trainers weren't met with any warm welcomes.

"What do you mean, we can't come in?" Ash asked. "I'm trying to become a Pokémon Master."

"I wouldn't let you in if you were the last Pokémon trainers on Earth," said a girl with blue hair in a ponytail.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"This gym doesn't allow anyone inside who says perfume is a stinky rip-off," the girl continued.

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"Wait, I didn't say I was against perfume," Aaron said in his own defense, but once again went unheard.

"We manufacture that stinky perfume right here in this gym," said a brown-haired girl.

"Uh-oh," Ash said.

"Look what you've gotten us into, Ash!" Aaron shouted at the boy.

"So you see, young man…" the blue-haired girl started before she slammed a stamp on both Ash's and Aaron's faces, leaving giant red X marks. "You're the stinker!"

"Wait!" Aaron shouted as he jumped back up and tried to charge into the gym, only to be blocked by all the girls who were pushing him back out. "I need to see the Gym Leader! It's about my Pokémon!"

But as an answer, Aaron just got hit in the face with the stamp again, causing him to fall back onto the pavement while the doors to the gym closed. Though Ash got back up and started banging on the door.

"But don't you understand? I've got to challenge your Gym Master so I can win a badge," Ash begged. "You got to let me in."

The girl with the blue hair walked up to the door and Ash though he would be let in. But his hopes got up for nothing as the girl put her finger under her eye and stuck her tongue out at Ash.

"Aww, pretty please with a cherry on top?" Ash begged more.

"Face it Ash, we're not getting in," Aaron said as the brown-haired trainer stood back up. "And you're at fault for this!"

"My fault? How is this my fault?" Ash questioned.

"If you weren't so rude in that store then we could've gotten in and I would've had my Oddish checked!" Aaron answered.

"Well who cares? I came to win a badge!" Ash shouted back.

"You little brat! My Pokémon's life could be at stake and all you care about is some badge?" Aaron asked.

Ash flinched as he thought it over. For him, getting a badge meant he was one step closer to the Pokémon League. But Aaron's Pokémon was actually sick and if it died when Ash could've helped it but went for a badge instead, then what good would it do?

"I'm sorry," Ash said.

Aaron just let out a sigh.

"I guess there's nothing we can do about it. We need to find another way in," Aaron said.

"Right," Ash agreed as the two trainers walked away from the gym.

"I know what I'm doing," the two trainers heard someone say and they looked up to see Team Rocket tied up in a tree.

"Are you three hanging out again?" Ash asked.

"The pests," Jessie said as she looked at the two trainers.

"Please, could you help us out of this tree?" James requested.

"Traitor!" Jessie shouted as she swung herself and hit James, wrapping her legs around his neck to choke him. "How dare you collaborate with the enemy."

"Whose side are you on?" Meowth shouted.

But while Jessie was strangling James, the red-head suddenly got an idea and turned to attention to Ash and Aaron.

"Hey, kids. Bet they wouldn't let you in that gym today," Jessie said.

"That's none of your business," the two trainers said in unison.

"They kicked ya out," Meowth mocked.

"Even though you're both pests, I'll make a deal," Jessie said. "Untie us, and we'll show you how to get in that gym."

"Why should we trust you?" Ash asked.

"Face the facts, boy, you can't get into the Pokémon League without winning more badges," Jessie answered.

"Hang on, let's not be too hasty, Ash," Aaron said.

"Huh?" Ash asked, wondering why Aaron would want to make a deal with Team Rocket.

"This might be our only way in and we both need to get in that gym, right? We just cut them down and they'll get us in. You can get your badge and I can get the Gym Leader to have a look at my Pokémon," Aaron said.

"I guess…" Ash said, not entirely sure.

"All right, we'll help you. Just as long as you stick to your promise and help us," Aaron said to Jessie.

"Of course, of course," Jessie agreed.

Once getting Team Rocket out of the tree, the group of five headed towards a department store for Team Rocket's idea. Some hours later, both Ash and Aaron found themselves in dressing rooms.

'_Why did I agree to help those guys?_' Aaron thought to himself as he sweatdropped at what Team Rocket was forcing him to wear.

"Bing," Jessie said.

"Bong," James said.

"Bing!" Meowth joined in.

"Ta-da!" all three members of Team Rocket cheered.

The curtains from the two dressing rooms opened up to reveal Ash and Aaron both wearing dresses and wigs. Both boys stepped out.

"Why did I agree to this?" Aaron asked as he wore a blue dress and long purple hair.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Ash said as he wore an orange dress and long blonde hair.

"Great wigs," James commented.

"Not even your own mothers would recognize you in those outfits," Jessie said as she held a mirror to both boys.

"Think so?" Ash asked.

"She better not," Aaron muttered.

"Talk about dressing for success," Meowth said. "That get-up will get you into the gym easy."

"Great. Then I'll show that Gym Leader who's the boss around here," Ash said.

"Ah, that doesn't sound very ladylike," Jessie said.

"Huh?" Ash wondered.

"You'll give away your secret," James answered.

Both human members of Team Rocket started to encourage Ash to sound more like a girl. Ash then cleared his throat.

"I'll show those meanies," Ash said in a high-pitched voice.

Team Rocket then looked over at Aaron.

"Oh no. There's no way I'm doing that. I have too much dignity," Aaron said.

"You're already in the dress. Whatever dignity you had is down the drain," Jessie said.

Aaron's eye then started to twitch as his face turned a slight red.

"E-even so, I can't make my voice high-pitched like that," Aaron admitted.

"Then it looks like you'll have to be voiceless," James said.

"Fine by me," Aaron agreed. '_Seriously? _Why_ did I agree to this?_'

After Team Rocket also got some disguises, the five of them, four since Meowth was in James' fat suit, headed back towards the Celadon gym. The four of them walked in through the doors and up to the counter.

"Good evening," Ash said in his high-pitched voice.

'_I hope we don't have to keep these disguises for long,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"We would like to enroll our daughters Ash-ly and A-ndrea in your Pokémon trainer class," Jessie said.

'_Andrea? That's the name they're giving me? Someone kill me now,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Nothing but the best for our little princesses," James said with an altered voice.

'_Someone _please_ kill me now!_' Aaron said in his mind.

"That's right," Meowth said from inside James' suit, but James just punched his own gut to shut Meowth up.

The blue-haired girl from earlier had walked up to the four of them and just looked at James weirdly, but then turned to attention to Ash and Aaron.

"Do you two like perfume?" the girl asked.

"Oh, yes," Ash said while Aaron only nodded.

"What's wrong with your sister?" the girl asked.

"Oh, uh, she can't speak. She hasn't been able to for years," Ash said as a cover-up.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," the blue-haired girl said. "Anyway, I'm sure you two will be accepted into the class. Your parents should apply at the desk."

The four of them walked up to the desk, Aaron sweatdropping the entire time going over and over again in his head if this was the right idea.

"Way to scam 'em, girlies," Meowth said as the Scratch Cat Pokémon poked its head out of James' suit, but James just forcefully pushed Meowth back in.

"Are you two applying at the gym?" said the girl at the desk.

"Uh, yeah," Ash said in his regular voice, but then corrected himself immediately upon seeing the girl at the desk was the same green-haired girl from the perfume shop earlier. "I mean, yes, ma'am."

"We're so proud to have our little girls in your gym," Jessie said.

"Yes, we sure are," James said, still struggling to get Meowth back into the suit.

"Ma'am, where is Erika, the Gym Master?" Ash asked.

"Oh, you'll meet her soon," the green-haired girl answered.

'_All right. Now all I got to do is beat Erika, and I'll get another badge,_' Ash thought to himself.

'_Perfect. Soon I'll be able to find out what's wrong with Oddish,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Bye-bye," Jessie called out as she and James walked down the corner. "Hug and kisses, Ash-ly and A-ndrea. Mommy and daddy are leaving you to battle those cute little Pokémon."

"Bye, sweeties," James said as the two left.

Aaron just wanted to smack himself in the face, but figured it might give away the disguise so he decided against it. The girl at the counter led Ash and Aaron to the room were Erika would be and the two boys, or Aaron at least, managed to catch the ending of a story that was being told in one of the rooms.

"And so, Omanyte bid farewell and promised one day to return to visit the friends who changed his life on that faraway beach. The end," a woman's voice said.

"Great story," Aaron heard someone say and knew it was Brock right away.

The green-haired girl then led Ash and Aaron into the room.

"Uh-oh, how did Misty and Brock get here?" Ash whispered.

"Remember the shop, Ash? I think that's how," Aaron whispered back.

"Trainer Erika!" the green-haired girl called out.

"Hmm? Erika!" Ash whispered as she looked over at the dark-haired girl holding the picture.

"I'd like to introduce our new students," the girl said.

"Oh, welcome," Erika greeted.

'_You've got to be kidding!_' Aaron thought to himself as he looked at Erika.

'_The store manager!_' both Ash and Aaron thought at the same time.

"Nice to meet you," Erika said to the two boys as she walked up to them.

"Thank you, ma'am," Ash said in his high-pitched voice while Aaron only nodded.

"You sure are a shy young lady," Brock said, then turned his attention to Aaron, who he thought was also a girl because of the disguise. "And you're very beautiful."

Aaron's eye twitched and he just socked Brock in the face, earning looks from everyone else in the room.

"Uh… sorry, my sister just wasn't expecting that," Ash said as a cover-up.

Aaron just gave a quick nod just to keep up the disguise.

"That's… all right. But she sure is strong," Brock said as he got back up. "But anyway, don't you two worry, all the girls want to make you feel at home here at the gym. Let's all give these two a warm welcome."

"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse greeted.

'_Oh! Oh, great. Pikachu's here too,_' Ash thought to himself.

"May I ask you a question?" Misty asked towards Erika.

"Of course you may, Misty," Erika said.

"I was wondering why we can all sit with Gloom? I always thought, that because of its terrible smell, it was almost impossible to get anywhere near Gloom. So how come this Gloom doesn't smell bad to me at all?" Misty asked.

'_A Gloom? That's Oddish's evolved form,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"That's a very smart question, Misty," Erika said as she walked over to Gloom. "Gloom doesn't have a bad smell all the time, whenever Gloom is in danger, it lets out the bad smell. It's a natural defense mechanism. But as long as Gloom doesn't feel threatened, it smells just fine. Just make sure Gloom feels safe, and show you want to be his friend."

"How do you know all that?" Misty asked as Brock, Ash and Aaron walked closer.

"I met Gloom a long time ago," Erika said as she started her story. "When I was a little girl, I got lost one day and ran into a Grimer. I'd never been so scared. I couldn't even move. Somehow, that Gloom understood how scared I felt and decided to come to my rescue. This is the same Gloom that rescued me from Grimer that day. We've been friends ever since."

"It's all because of her friendship with Gloom that Erika decided to become a Grass Pokémon trainer," said the girl with green hair.

"I wish Ash and Aaron could have heard that story," Misty said.

"We heard it," Aaron said by accident, earning looks from everyone, including Ash.

'_Uh-oh. Busted!_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Hang on a minute," Misty said as she walked closer to Aaron, causing the boy to take a step back. "Aaron?"

"What?" Brock wondered.

Aaron just shook his head, still going with the plan that he couldn't speak.

"I know it's you, Aaron. You got that scar on your face from Ash back in Vermilion," Misty said.

Aaron touched his nose felt his scar.

'_Indeed I'm busted. Might as well get rid of the disguise,_' Aaron thought to himself.

Aaron grabbed the shoulder of the blue dress he was wearing and tore the whole thing off, thankful he left his regular clothes on underneath as he also took off the wig.

"Sorry guys," Aaron apologized.

"Hey! We kicked you out!" the girls shouted.

"Wait, please. You have to listen. I never had anything against perfume. Ash was just standing next to me when you all kicked me out. I snuck into the gym so I could see Erika about my Oddish. I think it's sick and the Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center told me to see Erika about it," Aaron said.

Everyone, except Misty and Brock, were giving Aaron a suspicious look. But Erika walked up to him.

"May I see your Oddish?" Erika asked.

"S-sure," Aaron said as he held out his PokéBall and the small Weed Pokémon popped out.

Oddish indeed looked sick. Its face was red like it had a fever, but when Erika put her hand on Oddish's head, the Grass-type's head wasn't burning.

"There's nothing wrong with your Oddish," Erika said.

"There isn't?" Aaron asked.

"No. Your Oddish is acting like this because it's getting ready to evolve soon," Erika said.

"Evolve?" Aaron repeated and looked down at Oddish before kneel to pet it. "You hear that, Oddish?"

"Oddish," the Weed Pokémon said happily.

"AAAAAH!" Brock yelled.

"What is it, Brock?" Misty asked.

"I hit on Aaron! AAAAAH!" Brock shouted.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I punched you," Aaron chuckled a bit.

"But wait, you said you both heard it when I said both you and Ash should've been here. Does that mean Ash is here, too?" Misty asked.

Aaron just looked over at the disguised Ash, who just shook his head.

"Yeah, he's here," Aaron said, causing Ash to fall over.

Pikachu then walked over to the fallen Ash.

"Shoo. Go away," Ash said quietly.

But Pikachu just let loose a Thunder Shock and electrocuted Ash, which ended up destroying the wig he had on.

"Ash!" both Brock and Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's me," Ash said weakly from the Thunder Shock attack.

"You're that boy," Erika said as she looked at Ash while the raven-haired boy slowly stood back up.

"Erika, you wouldn't let us in, so Aaron and I wore these stupid disguises. We had to sneak into your gym so Aaron could have his Oddish checked and I could battle you for a badge, and now I want to challenge you!" Ash explained.

Erika agreed to the match and led Ash to the arena while Misty, Aaron and Brock sat on the bleachers along with the other girls from the gym.

"So Aaron, what made you and Ash think of dressing up like that to sneak in?" Misty asked.

"Trust me, it was an idea that neither of us came up with," Aaron said.

"Huh? But then who did?" Misty asked.

"Team Rocket said that if we cut them down from a tree that they'd help get us in. Believe me, it wasn't very fun," Aaron answered.

"Team Rocket?" both Misty and Brock asked at the same time.

"They left before we walked into that room. Long before. I have no idea where they went," Aaron said.

"But what would they want from here?" Brock asked.

"Don't know. I don't think it's the Pokémon or else they wouldn't have used something this complicated to get both me and Ash in as well," Aaron pondered.

"We'll have to worry about them later," Misty said.

"Yeah. Ash's match is about to start," Brock said.

The three trainers turned there attention back to the battlefield where Ash and Erika stood at opposite sides, ready to start the battle.

"I accept your challenge," Erika said to Ash. "It's my duty under the league rules. We'll each use three Pokémon."

"Right. I'll use my own Grass Pokémon against yours," Ash declared as he grabbed a PokéBall from his belt and twist his hat backwards. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

Ash threw the ball and it opened up, materializing the Seed Pokémon.

"This ought to be easy," Erika said as she grabbed a PokéBall from her belt and threw it. "Tangela, I choose you!"

The ball struck the ground and opened up, revealing a Pokémon completely covered in vines.

"What's that!" Ash wondered as he pulled out his Pokédex,

"Tangela, a Vine Pokémon. Its body is wrapped in vines. The rest of its form is hidden beneath these vine," Dexter said.

"That doesn't tell me much," Ash said. "All right, we'll attack from a distance. Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur did as told and released two vines from the bulb on its back towards Tangela.

"Tangela, Constrict," Erika ordered her Pokémon. "Resist it from pulling you in!"

Tangela did as told and started to spin once Bulbasaur's vines got close enough. The vine got caught and started to pull Bulbasaur closer as Tangela spun around and around.

"Tangela, now's the time to hit it with your Stun Spore," Erika commanded.

Once Bulbasaur was right in Tangela's face, the Vine Pokémon released the yellow powdery substance onto Bulbasaur.

"Return, Bulbasaur!" Ash called back his Pokémon.

"Poor Bulbasaur. Later I'll give you some Paralyze-heal to make your Pokémon better," Erika offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I don't need your help," Ash said as he grabbed another PokéBall. "I choose Primeape!"

But then Ash remembered how uncontrollable Primeape had been and decided against using Primeape.

"Oh, maybe I better not," Ash said to himself and grabbed another ball. "Charmander, go!"

Ash threw the ball and it opened to reveal the Fire-type Pokémon.

"This should be easy. Weepinbell, go!" Erika called out after returning Tangela to its ball and throwing Weepinbell's.

"Bell," the Grass-type said as it appeared from within the ball.

"Weepinbell, Razor Leaf, now!" Erika ordered.

Weepinbell did as told and started to spin around as it shot out the leaves for its attack.

"Charmander, Flamethrower full blast!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Charmander opened its mouth and released the stream of fire. The Flamethrower attack engulfed the leaves and burned them to cinders. As the burning leaves fell, Weepinbell tried its best to avoid them.

"Yes, way to go," Ash cheered. "Now let's just finish it up. Skull Bash, now!"

Charmander charged at Weepinbell and struck it hard with it head, sending the Grass-type flying.

"Ohh! Weepinbell, return now!" Erika called back her Pokémon.

"Ash is doing well," Brock said.

"He might actually win," said the girl with green hair.

"Yeah, he's a lot more impressive than he looks," said a girl with purple hair.

"What do you think, Misty? Think he can win?" Aaron asked.

"Hard to tell. They're both down by one Pokémon and Ash only has the advantage because of Charmander," Misty said.

"I agree. If Ash's Charmander gets knocked out, then he won't have such a big chance of victory," Aaron said as he pet his Oddish, which was sitting between the two Cerulean trainers.

"Your battle skill are impressive, Ash, but there's one thing you don't have-- empathy with your Pokémon. Without it, you'll never become a great Pokémon trainer like me," Erika said as she grabbed another ball. "Now I'm going to give you a lesson in empathy. Gloom, go!"

Erika threw the PokéBall, which opened up and the white light inside materialized into Gloom. Both Ash and Charmander looked at Gloom in surprise while the Grass-type released its foul odour at Charmander, instantly knocking out the Fire-type.

"Oh, Charmander, return," Ash said, calling his Pokémon back to its ball.

"And there goes Ash's advantage," Aaron said.

Erika just laughed at how quickly Charmander was beaten.

"Poor Ash, your Pokémon could use some more training," Erika said.

'_If Gloom beat Charmander, what Pokémon can I use next? Squirtle, Pidgeotto, and Pikachu couldn't take that terrible smell,_' Ash thought to himself.

"What's Ash doing?" Misty asked.

"I think he's wondering who to pick next. But his best bet would be Pidgeotto since it can blow that smell away and Flying-types have an advantage against Grass-types,' Aaron said before turning to his Oddish. "No offense, Oddish."

"Odd," Oddish said happily, to which Misty smiled a bit at how kind Aaron was to his Pokémon.

"Chu," Ash heard a voice say, only to look down and see Pikachu standing in front of him.

"Pikachu? You're saying you want to battle?" Ash asked the yellow mouse as he kneeled down.

"Pikachu," Pikachu said as it nodded.

"You know, you're probably gonna lose, but you're still willing to battle Gloom to help me out?" Ash asked, wanting to be certain that it's what Pikachu wants.

"Pika, pika!" the yellow mouse said as it lightly slapped Ash's face.

"What? You say you're sure you'll win?" Ash asked, wondering if he heard right as Pikachu turned its back to Ash.

"Pikachu. Pika, pi-- " Pikachu said as it nodded.

"Oh, Pikachu," Ash said as he hugged his Pokémon.

"Heartwarming, but what's that smell?" a woman's voice said from somewhere in the large room.

"What?!" Ash wondered as he stood back up.

"Your Pokémon skills are stinking up this gym even worse than Gloom," Jessie said.

"It's Team Rocket!" Misty pointed out.

"What do you guys want?!" Aaron shouted.

"To protect the world from devastation," Jessie said, starting the motto as she jumped down from the roof.

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" James continued as he followed Jessie.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie said once she and James landed on the ground.

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"And last, but not least, to blast this dump sky high," Meowth said as he landed on Jessie's and James' arms with a black metal box in his paws.

Meowth then pressed the switch and the ground beneath them started to crumble apart.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

But the explosion ended up sending the three of them flying out of the gym through the roof.

"Where did you put that blast ball?" James asked Meowth as he strangled the Pokémon.

"Near us so I wouldn't lose it," Meowth answered.

"At least we get this lovely parting gift," Jessie said as she held a vial of yellow liquid. "Their secret perfume formula."

"What?!" both Ash and Aaron shouted, unable to believe that they ended up helping Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again," the three members shouted as they flew off into the distance.

"Quick, girls, we've got to rescue all the Pokémon, fast!" said one of the gym girls as the building had caught fire from the explosion.

Everyone started to run around the gym, grabbing all the Pokémon they could and taking them to safety.

"Somebody, call the fire department!" one of the girls called out.

"They're on their way," Ash said.

All the girls from the gyms grabbed hoses to try and put out the fire. Both Ash and Aaron looked on at the blazing building.

"We never should've listened to Team Rocket," Ash said while Aaron clenched his fist.

"Don't just stand around, you two, help us put out the fire before this whole gym is burned to the ground," Misty shouted at Ash and Aaron.

"Right," both trainers agreed.

Aaron ran off to get a bucket full of water and placed it on the ground near the building.

"Help us out, Tentacool!" Aaron called out his Pokémon.

The ball opened in his hand and Tentacool appeared inside the bucket of water.

"Tentacool, use your water Gun to help put out the fire," Aaron requested his Pokémon.

Tentacool nodded and immediately released the stream of water while Ash asked the same from his Squirtle and Misty called out both Staryu and Starmie to help out. Brock called out Geodude to throw dirt on the fire.

"Keep on spraying!" Misty said.

"We've almost got it!" Ash said.

"Don't give up, guys!" Aaron shouted.

"Erika, what's the matter?" Misty asked as she saw the Gym Leader run towards the three of them.

"I've looked and looked, but I can't find Gloom anywhere," Erika answered.

"Did Gloom get out?" Ash asked.

"Oh, what if Gloom-- Oh, what if Gloom is still inside?" Erika wondered before trying to run in, but Misty grabbed her.

"You can't go in there, Erika," Misty said.

"But Gloom may be trapped inside," Erika said.

"I'll go in and find Gloom," Ash said as he charged into the building.

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Aaron called after the boy, but Ash had already gone in. "Darn it. Tentacool, hit me with your Water Gun!"

Tentacool did as its trainer requested, figuring that Aaron knew what he was doing. Tentacool turned its attention from the fire and soaked Aaron with its Water Gun.

"What are you doing, Aaron?" Misty asked.

"This happened because we ended up helping Team Rocket. This is my responsibility along with Ash's. If anyone's going to help Gloom, it'll be the two of us," Aaron said as he ran into the burning building.

"Aaron…" Misty said as she watched her friend charge in while she was holding his Oddish, but Oddish jumped out of Misty's arms and ran in after Aaron. "Oddish, come back!"

Aaron had already made it into the building, but had lost sight of Ash.

"Darn it. Where did he run off to?" Aaron wondered as he looked around.

"Odd. Odd," Aaron heard.

"What the?" Aaron wondered as he turned around to see Oddish behind him. "Oddish!"

Aaron ran over to Oddish and immediately knew it was his Pokémon and not one from the gym.

"What are you doing in here, Oddish?" Aaron asked his Pokémon.

"Odd. Odd oddish odd," the Weed Pokémon said.

"You followed me? But it's too dangerous," Aaron said, but then heard something crack.

Aaron looked up and saw a pillar fall from the roof. The Cerulean trainer grabbed Oddish and jumped back to avoid the pillar.

"Well, I guess you're stuck with me," Aaron said before taking off his wet jacket and wrapping it around Oddish. "It should keep you safe from the flames for a while."

Oddish just looked up at her trainer as Aaron got back up and ran through the building to look for Ash and Erkia's Gloom. Aaron heard something crash and something cry out before he saw Ash behind a wall and looking through the glass.

"Ash!" Aaron shouted out getting the boy's attention.

"Aaron? What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"This is our mess. We caused this, so we have to work together to fix it and save Gloom," Aaron said, earning a hesitant nod from Ash.

"Right," the hat-wearing boy agreed, then they both looked through the glass. "But we can't get close to Gloom because of that smell."

"Darn it," Aaron growled.

Oddish just looked up at Aaron, then at Ash, then turned to look through the glass at Gloom. Oddish then quickly jumped out of Aaron's jacket.

"Oddish, what?" Aaron wondered, but then Oddish started to glow white.

"What's happening to it?" Ash wondered.

"I think… it's evolving!" Aaron guessed.

Oddish grew a bit in size as her leaves disappeared. Her body became rounder and circular petals now formed on top of her head. The light faded to reveal Oddish had evolved into a Gloom.

"It's a Gloom!" Ash pointed out.

"Gloom gloom!" Gloom said.

"You want to help?" Aaron asked, earning a nod from his new Pokémon. "Thanks. All right, then could you go in there and let Erika's Gloom know it's safe?"

"Gloom!" Aaron's Gloom agreed before walking through the door and over to Erika's Gloom.

Aaron's Pokémon had a short conversation with Erika's before letting Ash and Aaron know they could go in for it. The two trainers wasted no time in rushing into the room. Aaron grabbed his Gloom while Ash picked up Erika's. The two trainers then ran as fast as they could towards the exit and out of the gym.

"Huh?!" Misty wondered as she saw two figures carrying two other figures.

Ash and Aaron made it out the door, each carrying a Gloom.

"All right! Hey!" Brock called out while Misty ran towards the two boys, followed by Erika and Brock himself.

"Ash!" Brock called out.

"Aaron!" Misty called out. "That was great!"

"Thank you, both," Erika said. "But wait, why are there two Glooms?"

"My Oddish evolved into a Gloom after it followed me in and wanted to help me and Ash get your Gloom back to you," Aaron told the Gym Leader.

Ash then handed Erika's Gloom to her. Upon daybreak, the fire had died down and the gym was still intact for the most part.

"With deep gratitude, I present you with this Rainbow Badge," Erika said as she handed the badge to Ash.

"What's that for?" Ash asked.

"I think you earned it. Don't you, Gloom?" Erika asked her Pokémon.

"Gloom, gloom," Erika's Pokémon said happily.

"Thanks a lot," Ash said as he took the badge and showed it to his yellow mouse. "Take a look, Pikachu, a Rainbow Badge."

"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu said happily.

"Congratulations, Ash," Brock said.

"Thanks," Ash said to the oldest trainer of the group. "Aw, but what about Team Rocket? They got away with your secret perfume formula."

Erika just laughed.

"No, they didn't," Erika said. "The bottle they stole has only one of our perfume's secret ingredients: Essence of Gloom!"

After a group laughter, the four trainers bid farewell to Erika and the other girls of the gym before leaving towards the next city.

"And congratulations to you too, Aaron," Misty said.

"Huh? What for?" Aaron asked.

"For one, you got a new Pokémon," Misty answered.

"Yeah, you're right," Aaron agreed as he looked down at his Gloom, which walked happily with the group of trainers.

"Gloom gloom!" Aaron's Gloom said happily.

* * *

**Me: And that's the chapter. How did everyone like it?**

**Aaron: Now I know how Ash felt about dressing up like a girl. Why did I agree to it?**

**Brock: AAAAAAAAAH! WHY THE HELL DID I HIT ON AARON?! THAT'S DISGUSTING!**

**Me: It was only for humor effect. It won't happen again, Brock.**

**Brock: IT BETTER NOT!**

**Misty: But hey, at least Aaron's Oddish evolved. That was kinda cool.**

**Aaron: Yeah, it was.**

**Me: Anyway, as for the next chapter, it'll be "Pokémon Fashion Flash" in which Brock gets his Vulpix.**

**Ash: Hey, that's cool. Brock hasn't gotten any new Pokémon yet.**

**Me: But there's something I'd like to request of my readers/reviewers. Since I don't have seasons 3, 4 or 5 on OFFICIAL DVDs (Yes, I bought burned DVDs of them off eBay), I can't get subtitles and therefore will have no script. So if possible, could someone let me know where I could find a site that has scripts for the episode of seasons 3, 4 and 5 as well as the Pokémon Chronicles episode "Cerulean Blues"?**

**Misty: But why "Cerulean Blues"? That's a spin-off episode only about me.**

**Me: I won't give out that information, but I'm sure my readers/reviewers will figure it out. Anyway, if anyone could provide a link to a website with the scripts for what I need, please send me a PM. Or, if it's not too much trouble, someone could watch the episodes (if you have them on DVD) and write down what they say in the subtitles, I will be grateful (even though I know how long it would take to do that, but I need those scripts by the time I start on season 2). Otherwise I won't be able to continue the fanfic and it'll have to be closed down at the end of Season 2, The Orange Islands.**

**Trainers: PLEASE DON'T LET US GO OUT LIKE THIS!**

**Me: So for now, please R&R, everyone!**

**Trainers: AND SOMEONE PLEASE GET THOSE SCRIPTS!**


	21. Pokémon Fashion Flash

**Me: Hey there guys! Welcome to the next chapter of Pokémon: Alternate Adventure!**

**Ash: What the heck took so long? It's been SEVEN MONTHS!**

**Me: I have perfect explanations for that. First, I was actually having some trouble with how to alter the second half of this chapter from the episode so I figured I'd put it on hold for a bit until I could think of something. Second, I've been working on other stories and kinda lost track of this one.**

**Brock: I think I can understand. If you're only writing one story and get bored of it, it's common to work on others to expand your imagination in hopes of finding out how to return to the previous one.**

**Aaron & Misty: What? You were bored with us?**

**Me: No, no! I wasn't bored! I was just a little busy with my other stuff and it took a while for me to figure out how to edit it around. I'm really sorry it took so long.**

**Ash: Okay, but then why did you skip the Hypno's Naptime episode?**

**Me: Because I couldn't find any way to give Aaron a big role in it and I've already gotten messages from past chapters saying something like "Aaron needs bigger roles or he might as well not be in it".**

**Aaron: But I'm fine with any role I get, no matter how big or small.**

**Me: I'm glad you see it that way. And besides, my readers can stop bitching about you not having big roles at the moment since, as I've stated many times before, you'll be getting a large role during Season 2 in the Orange Islands. Sorry readers/reviewers, I don't mean to be rude but I am getting sick and tired of those of you who keep complaining about Aaron "taking the back seat". Remember, it's my fanfic. Not yours. If you want to put the OC in a bigger role, make your own story.**

**Brock: Well, now that we've got that out of the way, shouldn't we start the story?**

**Me: Right you are.**

**Misty: Oh! Oh! Can I give the disclaimer? I loved this episode!**

**Me: Sure thing, Misty.**

**Misty: Thank you! AzureKite4 does NOT own the Pokémon series or its characters. However, he DOES own his OC and my childhood friend, Aaron!**

**Me: And now on with the story!**

* * *

-Chapter 21: Episode 27: Pokémon Fashion Flash-

After obtaining the Rainbow Badge, and after Misty accidentally caught herself a Psyduck while Aaron's Oddish evolved into a Gloom, Ash, along with Misty, Aaron and Brock, find themselves in a new city. Though once arriving in this city, Brock leads them towards Scissor Street for reasons that only the oldest trainer would know. Ash, Misty and Aaron just look around at the surrounding buildings.

"Scissor Street? Why'd we come here?" Ash asked.

"You'll see," Brock said knowingly.

"Sure are a lot of beauty parlors," Misty pointed out.

"I guess they called this street _Scissor Street_ because of that," Aaron speculated.

As the four trainers walked down the street, Brock kept looking around as if searching for something.

"Is there anyplace special you wanna visit, Brock?" Ash asked.

"Wait a minute," Misty said when Brock didn't answer. "I just remembered that _Scissor Street_ is also called _Breeders Lane_."

"Where is it?" Brock wondered as he kept looking around.

"So that's why we're here," Ash figured. "Brock's always gotta see the latest Breeder gear."

"And maybe he'll find other Breeders and get some tips," Aaron said.

"Some of the best Breeders have shops here. There are lots of terrific makeup places and fashion salons, too, just for Pokémon," Brock said.

"Hey!" Misty exclaimed as she ran towards a poster. "Oh, look. This must be the newest fashion."

On the poster was a picture of a Koffing and an Ekans wearing dresses with a pink R on the bottom left corner of the poster.

"How cute!" Misty said as she started to daydream while Ash, Aaron and Brock caught up to the redhead.

"You think that's cute, huh?" Ash wondered.

"Come on! We gotta go in!" Misty said as she grabbed Ash by the collar of his jacket and dragged him towards the store.

"Ohh! I don't wanna go in there!" Ash yelled.

"Hmm," Brock started to think as he looked at the poster.

"Something wrong, Brock?" Aaron asked.

"I'm not sure," the squinty-eyed trainer said. "There's definitely something suspicious about this poster, though."

"You got that right. Who'd want to dress their Pokémon up like that?" Aaron questioned until he noticed the pink R on the poster. "Hm? What's this?"

"Probably the shop's signature," Brock said.

'_There's something familiar about it though,_' Aaron thought to himself as he stared at the signature. '_Nah. I'm probably thinking too much._'

Aaron then stood up and looked around.

"I think we should go look for Ash and Misty. Just to make sure she doesn't end up killing the kid," Aaron said.

"Right," Brock chuckled as he followed Aaron.

It wasn't long before the two trainers spotted Ash and Misty. The redhead had finally stopped dragging Ash. As Aaron and Brock caught up to the other two, they heard the P.A. system.

"You won't believe how beautiful a Pokémon can be. Step in and see for yourself. Let us dazzle you with the latest fashions by the expert artists of Salon Roquet," a male voice said.

"Did he just say _Salon Roquet_?" Ash asked.

"Why does that name sound so familiar?" Misty wondered.

Brock turned to see what was in the shop window to see an Ekans wearing a very strange dress.

"Whoa. Is that supposed to be a Pokémon or a Christmas tree?" Brock questioned.

Aaron also looked into the shop window.

"In my personal opinion, it shouldn't be either of those," Aaron said.

The four trainers then watched as a woman walked out of the shop with a Raichu wearing some makeup and a Dodrio with a ridiculous hairstyle.

"I think I'm gonna get in line," Misty said.

"Huh?" both Ash and Aaron wondered, confused as to why Misty would want to make her Pokémon look so bad, for lack of another word.

"It's there!" Brock spoke up and pointed towards a building down the street, earning the attention of the other three trainers.

Brock then ran towards the building as fast as he could, followed closely behind by Ash, Misty and Aaron. The building was fancy, but not too fancy.

"I found it! I've been looking all over for this place!" Brock shouted as he stood in front of the building like he had his wildest dreams come true.

"_This_ is the store you've been looking for?" Misty asked.

"It doesn't look that important," Ash said.

"Well it must be if Brock was so eager to find it," Aaron said.

Brock slowly reached towards the door handles, but couldn't bring himself to open the doors as his face turned red.

"What are you so nervous about?" Ash asked as he, Misty and Aaron walked inside.

"Hi. Can I help you?" the three trainers heard someone say, which caused Brock to jump inside.

The four trainers saw a girl with light-blue hair **(A/N: Though I think her hair color is Teal. Please notify if I'm wrong)** massaging a Chansey.

"Just relax. Release all your tensions," the girl said to the Pokémon.

Brock just stared in awe. Not just at the girl, but at her work. The Chansey looked like it was sparkling.

"Now you'll have more energy," the girl said to the Chansey.

The Chansey jumped off the table to have a look in a nearby mirror. To say the least, the Chansey was very happy.

"Chansey, I've come for you, darling," a male voice said.

Ash, Misty and Aaron looked at the man weirdly since he was dressed like a woman and even had a red purse hanging off his shoulder.

"Ohh! Don't you look precious?" the man said as the girl brought over the Chansey.

"Thank you for bringing Chansey to my salon," the girl said.

"See you soon, Suzie!" the oddly-dressed man said as he and his Chansey left the store.

"May I help the next customer?" Suzie asked as she turned towards the four trainers.

"We're just kinda, sorta browsing around," Ash said.

Brock tried to shut Ash up, but couldn't seem to say anything due to obvious reasons. Then Misty pushed both Ash and Brock out of the way when something caught her eye.

"Look! Isn't that Vulpix the cutest thing?" Misty asked her three friends. "Oh! Don't you wanna hug it?"

Ash, Misty and Aaron walked over towards the Fire-type Pokémon, which was sitting on a very comfy chair. Misty had all her attention of the Pokémon's cuteness.

"What is it?" Ash wondered as he pulled out his Pokédex.

"Vulpix: A Fox Pokémon. Its six tails are extremely beautiful. As it evolves, it grows even more tails," the red machine said.

"I love its hair. I wish I had hair like Vulpix that looked so shiny and soft," Misty said as she reached out to pet the little Pokémon.

"Don't touch it!" Suzie warned the redhead, but she was too late as Misty already picked up the Vulpix.

"You're just about the cutest little Pokémon I've ever se--" Misty started, but was cut off when Vulpix released a Flamethrower attack on the redhead.

Vulpix then jumped out of Misty's hands back onto the chair before falling back to sleep.

"Very cute…" Misty said before passing out.

"Misty, you ok?" Aaron asked as he kneeled down to Misty's side.

"Vulpix uses powerful flame attacks," Dexter chimed in.

"Duh," Ash and Aaron said at the same time.

"Please pardon Vulpix. It doesn't like to be picked up or hugged by strangers," Suzie said.

"Wish I'd known that sooner," Misty said weakly.

"Uh, Suzie…" Brock called out, his face completely red.

"Yes?" the girl asked as she turned around to face the spiky-haired trainer.

"Uh, My name's Brock. Nice to meet you, Suzie. Uh, I wanna breed like you. I mean, I wanna be a breeder like you," Brock said, almost making a complete fool of himself.

"It's very nice to meet you, Brock. I'm flattered you want to make me your model," Suzie said.

"Yes, I wanna model you. I mean, I'm flattered that you're flattered. I mean, your Vulpix is nice," Brock said.

"Uh…" was all Ash could get out, dumbfounded by Brock.

"Huh?" Misty wondered.

"I don't think we've seen Brock like this since Melanie back at the village where Ash got Bulbasaur," Aaron said.

"And where you got Oddish," Misty added in.

"Right," Aaron said.

"What I'm really trying to say is, Suzie, I'm begging you to accept me as your pupil," Brock said.

"Wha?" Ash, Misty and Aaron shouted in shock, but even Pikachu and Suzie herself were surprised by this.

"You gotta be kidding, Brock," Ash said.

"Mind your own business, Ash. I know what I'm doing. Please say yes, Suzie," Brock said.

"I don't have pupils, Brock. Breeding takes up all my time," Suzie answered.

"What makes her such a great Breeder, anyway?" Ash wondered.

"Aah! How dare you?" Brock shouted at the hat-wearing boy at the top of his lungs before pulling a microphone from who-knows-where. "The sensational Suzie of Scissor Street has been awarded the trophy for excellence at the World Pokémon Breeders Contest for three consecutive years. Wait. There's more. Lights. In addition to that, the readers of _Pokémon Friends_ magazine named her the most popular Breeder four years running. And her hugely popular website records over 10,000 hits per day."

'_How the heck does Brock know so much about her? He's not some stalker, is he?_' Aaron wondered.

"Now that's what I call a great Breeder," Misty said in awe.

"You better believe it," Brock said.

"Ok, Brock. We heard you clear and loud," Ash said, somewhat afraid that Brock would yell more and burst his lungs.

"I wonder if this Vulpix has ever won any awards in competition," Misty said as she walked back to the sleeping Vulpix.

"That's a fabulous question, Misty," Brock said as he pulled out the microphone again. "Vulpix is the hottest supermodel of the Pokémon world. Notice the gorgeous flowing tails that have made Vulpix a champ. Plus, there--"

Fortunately, Brock was cut off when Aaron swiped the microphone out of his hands.

"We get it, Brock. Vulpix is terrific just like Suzie," Aaron said before putting the microphone into his own backpack so Brock wouldn't use it again.

Afterwards, Suzie and the four trainers got together for some tea **(A/N: I think that's what Suzie made. Please correct me if I'm wrong)** while Brock got some Pokéfood for Pikachu.

"So all four of you are traveling on a Pokémon journey together?" Suzie asked before turning her attention to Pikachu. "Your Pikachu has a beautiful, shiny coat. Are you the one who prepares all of Pikachu's food, Brock?"

"Uh, yes, I do!" Brock answered as he got up from his seat, his face red once again.

"And it's Brock's own recipe, too," Misty said.

"My career as a Breeder also began when I first became interested in Pokémon nutrition," Suzie said.

Vulpix then jumped up to where Pikachu was, earning everyone's attention. The Fox Pokémon sniffed the food Pikachu was eating before the yellow mouse held out half of the one it was eating. Vulpix ate it slowly, as though trying out the taste. After swallowing the food, Vulpix appeared very happy before it started to eat more.

"I can't believe Vulpix is eating the food I made," Brock said.

"Brock, this is really impressive. Vulpix never eats food I haven't made myself," Suzie stated.

"Looks like Vulpix is a fan of Brock's cooking," Ash said.

"Ahh. Thank you, Vulpix," Brock said, before accidentally smashing his head onto the table. "I'm… Not… Worthy."

"Suzie. We saw some superfancy-looking Pokémon when we were walking down the street. Is that really the latest trend?" Misty asked.

"By any chance, did you pass a very large salon on the way?" Suzie asked.

"Mmm, you mean that really tacky-looking place," Ash answered.

"Ever since it opened, some trainers are trying to make their Pokémon as flashy as possible," Suzie said.

"So that salon started the trend," Brock figured.

"A good Breeder is always trying to bring out a Pokémon's inner strength and personality, but this new fad is about standing out, not what's inside," Suzie explained.

"I don't like it, either. It's pretty stupid to waste your time showing off," Ash said.

'_You just hit yourself with that one too, Ash,_' Aaron thought to himself.

"But sometimes even Pokémon like to get dressed up and show off a little, just like the rest of us. Right, Pikachu?" Misty asked the electric rodent. "I see it now…"

As Misty started to imagine what Pikachu would look like when dressed up, the Electric-type just looked at Misty weirdly.

"I don't think I wanna know what's going on inside her head this time," Aaron muttered to himself.

"I think Pikachu's perfect the way it is. We don't need any goofy fashions. It's what's going on inside that really counts," Ash said.

'_And Ash finally proves he has a brain of some sort,_' Aaron thought to himself, not wanting to get into a fight.

"I never said the inside wasn't important, but the outside counts, too!" Misty shouted at Ash.

"The inside is what matters!" Ash yelled back.

"Outside, too!" Misty shouted.

"Inside!" Ash yelled.

The two trainers continued to yell back and forth while Aaron, Brock and Suzie just sweatdropped.

"Shouldn't you stop them?" Suzie asked.

"That's like trying to stop the tide," Brock answered.

"Aaron!" Misty shouted, earning the attention of the brown-haired boy.

"Y-yeah?" Aaron asked, afraid that Misty would pummel him or something.

"Who's right? Me or Ash?" Misty shouted.

Aaron just looked between the two trainers before calming down.

'_That's what she yelled at me for? Geez, give me a heart-attack why don't ya?_' Aaron thought to himself. "Well to be honest…"

Both Ash and Misty had their full attention on Aaron, wanting to hear what he had to say since he was the one Misty asked.

"I think both of you are right," Aaron said.

"Huh?" both trainers wondered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ash is right that the inside is what counts. But Misty is right on the fact that sometimes people like to try standing out. So chances are the same thing would go for Pokémon," Aaron answered.

Both Ash and Misty sighed since neither had won the argument, but Ash had an idea to try and one-up Misty.

"If you think fashion's so great, how about taking your Psyduck to that salon?" Ash tainted.

"Hey, what a great idea!" Misty said before grabbing the ball of the yellow duck. "Let's go, Psyduck!"

Misty tossed the ball into the air. As it opened, a stream of light poured out before materializing into the Duck Pokémon.

"Psy-yi-yi," the Water-type said as it held its head while Ash laughed in amusement.

"Now we'll see who gets the last quack!" Ash laughed.

"Ha! Anyway, Psyduck and I are so cute, we'll look good whatever we wear!" Misty gloated.

"I'm sure Psyduck will," Ash muttered, but unfortunately for him Misty heard.

"What do you know about fashion?" Misty yelled at the boy before turning back to her Psyduck and speaking calmly. "Right, Psyduck?"

"Psy-yi-yi. Duck?" the yellow duck said as it tilted its head.

"This may be more of a challenge than I thought it would be," Misty said.

"Better get going," Ash said with a large grin on his face as though he won something.

"Ha. You'll be jealous when we get back from the salon and Psyduck turns out to be even cuter than Pikachu. Come on, Psyduck," Misty said as she turned to leave, her headache of a Pokémon following right behind.

"I wonder if it's what's on the outside or what's on the inside that really counts in the end," Suzie said. "Ever since that new salon opened, I've been wondering about my methods."

'_Did no one aside from Ash and Misty hear what I said earlier?_' Aaron thought to himself.

"Don't say things like that!" Brock said as he stood up. "Suzie, you've got to keep following the path you believe in."

"We have to stick up for what's inside together," Ash said before turning to Pikachu. "Right, Pikachu?"

The electric mouse just nodded in agreement.

"That's very kind, but how can we?" Suzie asked.

"If they wanna put style over substance, we'll give customers substance with style," Brock answered.

"Well, even though I'm the neutral party in all this, I'll help you guys out," Aaron said, causing Ash, Brock and Suzie to look at him. "Otherwise I would've just wandered around town seeing as how I was on the fence for both inner and outer beauty."

"Thank you very much," Suzie said.

'_But I am kinda worried about Misty,_' Aaron thought to himself before he let his mind wander a bit. '_Nah. She can take care of herself. She's been able to for a long time._'

The four of them got up from their seats and started to set up the store to Suzie's instructions. Once everything was completed, Brock and Aaron went out the front door to attract attention for the building while Ash asked Suzie if he could help with massaging the Pokémon. It didn't take very long though for a large line-up to form outside of the parlor.

"Uh, there are still a few seats left in the back of the room for our lecture on Pokémon care," Brock instructed the customers through a megaphone while Ash and Suzie got to work and Aaron directed the customers to waiting areas.

"Wow, I can't believe how fast this place filled up," Aaron mused to himself as he continued to show customers where to wait. '_But I still can't help worrying about Misty. I know she can handle herself, but for some reason I have a bad feeling._'

"Each Pokémon needs your special care and attention," Suzie instructed as she massaged Ash's Pikachu as a demonstration while her Vulpix sat on a table and watched. "Whenever a Pokémon's been injured in a battle, it should be given a therapeutic massage."

"Pika…" Pikachu squeaked happily as Suzie massaged it.

* * *

Meanwhile, down the street, Misty was waiting outside of the Salon Roquet building in a line-up when the line started to get smaller and smaller from the customers going to Suzie's massage parlor.

"Hey, wait. Where did everybody go?" Misty wondered when she noticed she was the only one standing there.

"Say, weren't you over at Suzie's?" Misty heard someone ask, to which she turned around and saw the oddly-dressed man with the Chansey walk up to her.

"Yeah. I saw you there," Misty greeted the man.

"Suzie's lecture just started. It's a series about Pokémon care. Today she's talking about massage," the man said.

"A lecture on Pokémon massage?" Misty repeated.

* * *

Back at Suzie's shop, everyone had gathered around a table, which Ash's Pikachu stood on while Ash stood behind and Suzie stood next to the yellow mouse.

"This volunteer and his Pikachu will now demonstrate the techniques we learned in today's lecture," Suzie said, introducing Ash and Pikachu to the customers, to which the both of them nodded. "As you may already know, a Pikachu's electric sacs are located on its cheeks, and they become very tense after a difficult battle."

"Pika. Pikachu," Pikachu said, as if agreeing with Suzie's statement.

"Ash, would you please massage Pikachu's cheeks just like I showed you earlier?" Suzie asked the hat-wearing trainer.

"Uh, sure," Ash replied, not sure of how well he'd do.

As Ash walked around the table and put his gloves in his pockets, Pikachu laid on its back.

"Uh, let's see. Uh…" Ash started to mutter as he tried to figure out what to do while Pikachu squeaked happily. "Maybe, uh…"

Ash placed his hands on Pikachu's red cheeks and started to rub his hands in circles, to which the Electric-type squeaked happily once more.

"Ha. How's that feel, Pikachu?" Ash asked his Pokémon, to which Pikachu just smiled blissfully.

Everyone watching gasped in amazement, even Brock, as Ash was successfully massaging Pikachu for the first time.

"Good communication between Pokémon and their trainers is essential," Suzie stated. "These techniques build trust and bring out a Pokémon's personality."

"I think Suzie will agree with me that any technique is only as good as the trainer or breeder who uses it," Brock chimed in from the audience, which caused the rest of the crowd to look at their own Pokémon before letting out a sigh.

* * *

Down the street at Salon Roquet, a female trainer was having her Squirtle looked after by the male and female stylists.

"The perfect touch," the male said as he tied a bow to the Squirtle's tail.

"One last rose," the female said while painting a rose on one of the shell's plates, matching the other rose-covered plates. "Voila. This Squirtle shell has become the perfect advertisement for our latest line of Pokémon fashions."

Along with the bow and painted roses, the Squirtle wore a gold wig and red lipstick.

"Oh, yet another masterpiece from Salon Roquet. Roses are the flowers of love and romance," the male stylist said while moving around the store dramatically. "We also paint daffodils."

"Squirtle," the Tiny Turtle Pokémon sighed heavily, not exactly happy with its new makeover.

"Meowth, send in the next customer _tout suite_," the red-haired female stylist whispered towards a familiar Meowth that stood on a counter with a cash register on its hind legs.

"Can't you see I'm counting money here?" the Meowth said in human language before spotting the silhouette of Misty and her Psyduck outside the glass doors. "Hmm? Only one customer?"

"One or one million, it doesn't matter, as long as we have customers who appreciate true beauty," said the red-haired female.

"We only want to offer our services to the most refined customers," said the purple-haired male.

"We're not gonna make any money that way," the Meowth argued.

"Hello there, everybody," Misty greeted as she and her Psyduck walked in through the doors.

But when the two stylists and the Meowth saw the flame-haired girl, they nearly freaked right out.

"Huh?" Misty wondered.

"Welcome, young lady," the red-haired female greeted before both she and her purple-haired male partner grabbed Misty and started pulling her towards a chair.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Misty shouted.

"Step in. Don't be shy," the male offered.

"No, not me. Psyduck," Misty argued, hoping the two stylists would stop trying to pull her arms out of their sockets.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're as lovely as any Psyduck," the female tried to compliment the Cerulean trainer.

"Hey, hold on a second!" Misty protested as the two stylists started throwing clothes and accessories onto her while her Psyduck casually walked towards its trainer.

"It's another masterpiece," the male stylist said once he and his red-haired partner finished with Misty.

"You like it?" the female stylist asked as she and her partner brought a mirror towards Misty, who now had pink bows on her shoes, the suspender straps of her shorts pulled off, her yellow shirt switched with a red one with a pink short-sleeved open jacket over top, an orange pac-man-like pendant and blue goggles around her neck and her hair was tied in buns at the side instead of its usual single side ponytail.

"Oh! I love it!" Misty squealed at her reflection before beginning a series of poses. "You've really captured the real me! You're totally amazing artists. Oh, I look so cute."

"I'm thrilled," the female stylist said.

"There's nothing that pleases us more than a satisfied customer," said the male stylist.

"Oh, why don't we try out even more new styles?" Misty asked.

"Time for a makeover!" both stylists shouted, happy to oblige with Misty's request.

Both stylists then started their work on Misty, adding face paints like a gold star on her left cheek, an orange circle around her nose, a small purple circle, rainbow and blue tear drop on her right cheek, and other things. But Meowth just glared at the red-haired and purple-haired humans.

"Uhh! Forget about that makeover! She hangs around with that Pikachu. We gotta grill the kid to figure out how to steal it," Meowth shouted, causing both humans to stop what they were doing and glare at Meowth themselves.

"Hey, wait! You're Meowth!" Misty shouted while pointing at the feline Pokémon.

"We were trying to find out until you blew our cover!" Jessie shouted as she and James started to pummel Meowth.

"First you get the opponent to relax. The you pump them for info," James added in.

"So stop pumping me and get that Pikachu!" Meowth shouted as he jumped up and slashed his claws at Jessie and James, shredding off their disguises, which they wore over their usual uniforms.

"I'll never tell you phonies anything!" Misty shouted, but then James grabbed her. "Uhh!"

"So, you figured out the truth. Well you'd better tell us where Pikachu is if you don't want your face painted like Frankenstein," James threatened as he held a paintbrush to the girl's face.

"Do I want a face like Frankenstein's?" Misty asked to no one in particular before shaking her head wildly. "No, I don't. Hey, Psyduck!"

"Psyduck?" James asked.

"Where'd Psyduck go?" Meowth wondered as the three Team Rocket members looked around for the yellow duck.

"I didn't see it. It's gone," Jessie said.

"Psyduck," Misty muttered angrily to herself.

* * *

Out in the streets, the Psyduck in question was waddling as fast as it could towards Suzie's massage parlor, squeezing through the lines before shouting for attention, which it obtained.

"Pika?" Pikachu wondered before jumping off the table, still in the middle of its massage from Ash, and walked up to Psyduck, trying to converse with it, but the yellow duck keep yelling and somehow the Mouse Pokémon managed to understand what it was saying through the screaming and tried to tell Ash.

"What's the matter? Has something bad happened to Misty?" Ash asked.

'_What!_' Aaron shouted in his head.

"Pika, pika!" Pikachu shouted while nodding its head and running off with Psyduck, leading the way to the Salon Roquet building.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he and Brock chased after the two yellow Pokémon.

'_Somehow I just _knew_ something was going to happen!_' Aaron shouted in his head again before running after Ash and Brock.

* * *

It didn't take very long for the five of them to reach Salon Roquet and run through the front door.

"Misty!" Ash and Aaron shouted in unison.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted while pointing at the tied-up orange-haired girl.

"Huh?" the three Team Rocket members wondered as they turned to look at the group of five that entered the building.

"It's Team Rocket again!" the three boys shouted in unison while Suzie walked up behind them, holding her Vulpix.

"What took you guys so long?" Misty asked, happy to see her friends.

"What happened to her face?" both Ash and Brock questioned and tried to hold in their laughter while Aaron facefaulted to the floor.

'_What did they do to her?_' Aaron mentally asked himself.

"Dumb boys," Misty muttered to herself while sending Ash and Brock death glares for their held-in laughter.

But both Ash and Brock were able to keep themselves from laughing and shook their heads while Aaron got back to his feet.

"Let Misty go right now!" Aaron demanded.

"Sorry. You'll have to wait your turn. We won't be finished with her makeover until she looks like this," Jessie said while making a stupid face.

"We're conducting some important beauty research," James added in.

"Beauty research?" Suzie repeated. "Can't you understand it's the beauty inside that counts? Every Pokémon is beautiful. We just have to help the Pokémon discover it."

"What's she talking about?" Jessie asked, completely lost.

"What does she know about breeding Pokémon?" James mocked. "Who cares about the inside? Outside counts."

"What do you two numbskulls know about Pokémon breeding? This whole Salon Roquet idea is supposed to be a scam, remember?" Meowth shouted while slashing Jessie's and James' facing, making Suzie gasp at what Meowth had let out. "It was a brilliant plan. Part one: think up some stupid Pokémon fashions and take piles of money from their trainers…"

Everyone who had been at Suzie's store was now standing outside of the Salon Roquet building and were now mumbling about what Meowth was saying.

"And part two: whenever a trainer brings in a rare Pokémon, first get the trainer distracted, then steal the Pokémon on the spot," Meowth finished.

"Why you dirty little…" Aaron growled.

"And our greatest masterpiece of all will be that Pikachu of yours," Jessie said as she leaned against the chair Misty was tied to. "How about a trade: this twerpy girl for your Pikachu?"

"If you're trying to steal Pikachu, we're gonna battle," Ash challenged as he, Brock and Aaron pulled out their PokéBalls.

"Count me in, too. Tag-team," Brock said.

"I'm in, too!" Aaron stepped up.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted as it got ready to fight, but James just laughed.

"Salon Roquet is ready with our own fashion battle platform," James said as he pulled out some weird microphone, held it out and pressed a button on it. "Here goes."

The entire building started to shake, making Ash, Brock and Pikachu lose their balance while Aaron shifted his weight to keep himself standing against the shaking. The building was then enveloped in smoke as Team Rocket began their motto.

"And now, Salon Roquet presents a fashion extravaganza and Pokémon battlethon," Jessie started. "To protect the world from boring fashion…"

"To dress all people with flash and passion…" James said.

"To give all Pokémon pretty faces…" Jessie said as she wore a prince-like costume.

"To extend our art to outer spaces…" James said, wearing a red dress and blonde wig.

"Jessie…"

"James…"

"Salon Roquet. When it comes to chic, we know that's right."

"Surrender your taste or prepare to fight."

"Ohh. We're supposed to battle on that?" Ash asked as everyone looked around to see the building had changed into some sort of stage with Misty, still tied to the chair, at the very top.

'_Those two are really weirding me out,_' Aaron thought to himself as he took a glance at the cross-dressed Team Rocket.

"Dazzle them, Ekans," Jessie said.

"Knock 'em dead, Koffing," James said.

The two Pokémon, which had been acting as window decorations for the store, jumped out onto the stage, still wearing their costumes.

"We don't need costumes. Pikachu's super energized from that massage. Go!" Ash shouted as the Mouse Pokémon jumped out towards Ekans and Koffing.

"Geodude, go!" Brock called out as he threw his PokéBall, which opened to reveal the Rock Pokémon.

"You're up, Gastly!" Aaron called as he threw out his PokéBall, which opened to release the Ghost-type Pokémon.

"Geodude, give 'em a Seismic Toss!" Brock commanded, to which the floating rock flew at Ekans, grabbed it, flew into the air and then hurled the Snake Pokémon back to the ground.

However, the Poison-type Pokémon curled itself, making it look like an Uroboros, and started to spin as it landed on the ground and dashed at Pikachu.

"Gastly, block it!" Aaron told his Pokémon, to which the Ghost-type flew between Pikachu and Ekans before releasing a Night Shade blast, sending Ekans flying back.

"Thanks for the save," Ash said while Pikachu wiped its forehead.

"Sure thing," Aaron said.

"Pikachu, Thunder Shock on Koffing!" Ash ordered, to which the little rodent fired the electric blast, but Koffing started to spin around, which deflected the attack, surprising Pikachu.

"Koffing, cutie, Sludge makeover!" James said as he tossed rose petals into the air.

"Koffing! Koff!" the Poison-type said as it spun around and spat the black sludge at all three Pokémon, hitting them all and blinding them.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"No, Geodude!" Brock called to his Pokémon.

"Gastly! Try using Night Shade to blast it off!" Aaron ordered, to which the Ghost-type obliged, but as it kept firing the beams, the sludge stayed while Gastly fired blindly in all directions. "Return!"

As Aaron held out the PokéBall, the red beam of light shot forward and hit Gastly before recalling it back to the red-and-white ball.

"And now the finale. Go!" Jessie shouted as she raised her sword.

Ekans and Koffing moved to charge forward, but Ekans tripped on its dress and fell forward into Koffing, destroying their costumes as they fell to the floor.

"Oh, no! It's a fashion disaster!" James shouted as both he and Jessie looked at their Pokémon in shock.

"Get up, you guys!" Meowth shouted as he jumped onto the stage. "We still got a battle to finish! Let's go!"

All three Pokémon charged towards the blinded Pikachu and Geodude while Aaron was about to reach for another PokéBall, but before the Team Rocket Pokémon could get very far, Suzie's Vulpix appeared between both sides in a flash, stopping Meowth, Ekans and Koffing in their tracks.

"Now what?" Brock asked Suzie.

"Vulpix and I will take care of them," Suzie answered.

"We'll give your Vulpix a makeover when we get rid of its tails," Jessie said as she walked down the steps.

"Time to give you a lesson in breeding. If all you worry about is your Pokémon's outer beauty, its inner strength will be lost," Suzie said as Vulpix nodded in agreement.

"A Pokémon is like a fashion model-- all that counts is a pretty face," Jessie said as she raised her sword.

"Like mine!" Meowth shouted as he jumped at Vulpix, followed by Ekansa and Koffing.

"Vulpix, wrap them up with Fire Spin!" Suzie commanded.

A yellow aura surrounded Vulpix as its eyes started to glow a deep blue before changing to a deep red color as it inhaled and exhaled a large stream of fire that engulfed the three Team Rocket Pokémon. When the fire hit the stairs, it formed into a tornado of fire, with the three Pokémon still in it, and it slowly climbed up towards Jessie and james.

"Save the gowns!" both Team Rocket members shouted as they panicked.

"Hey, don't Fire Spin me! Help, help, help!" Misty cried out as she struggled in the chair.

Aaron saw Misty still tied to the chair and ran towards her, climbing up the side of the little stadium to avoid the fire, and started to untie the rope from behind the chair.

"Thanks, Aaron," Misty said.

"Sure, no…" Aaron started to reply, but noticed the fire was getting closer. "Uh… big problem."

Misty also noticed the fire and turned to Aaron with a grin on her face, to which Aaron grinned back and nodded after a bit and threw out one PokéBall each.

"Staryu!" Misty called out.

"Tentacool!" Aaron summoned.

The two balls opened and released the two Water-type Pokémon.

"Stay steady, you two," Misty said.

"And when it's close enough, use Water Gun," Aaron said before glancing at Misty. '_She sure is smart. Knowing we won't be able to dodge the fire in time, her idea to have our Water Pokémon put it out just before it reaches us is brilliant. But we have to make sure it sends Team Rocket flying, first._'

"We're blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth shouted as the Fire Spin swallowed up the two human members and sent them skyward.

"Now!" Misty and Aaron shouted in unison, to which both Staryu and Tentacool released their Water Gun attacks together and doused the flames before it got any closer.

"Now that was a close one," Aaron said.

"You got that right," Misty said as both Cerulean trainers smiled triumphantly.

"Now, that's an attack!" Ash said, awed by Vulpix's display of power before pulling out his Pokédex.

"Vulpix's greatest attack-- Fire Spin! Using powerful flames to block its opponent from moving, it then inflicts great damage," the red machine explained.

"Did you see that?" Brock asked to the crowd as he, Suzie and Ash turned to face them. "A cute exterior hides inner strength-- that's the Pokémon's true personality!"

Everyone in the crowd then started to take the accessories off of their Pokémon. As they did, Misty's Psyduck waddled up the stairs towards Misty and Aaron.

"So there you are, Psyduck," Misty said.

"If it wasn't for Psyduck, we probably wouldn't have known you were in trouble," Aaron said, to which Misty laughed a little.

"Sorry I keep giving you a hard time, Psyduck," Misty said as she knelt down to her Pokémon.

"Psy?" Psyduck said, tilting his head like always.

"Uh… maybe not," Misty said to which Aaron laughed a little.

"But you know…" Aaron said, getting Misty's attention. "I have to be honest with you. That look doesn't suit you."

"Wha?" Misty shouted as she got to her feet and prepared to yell at her brown-haired friend, but then stopped to think about it. "Hm… I guess you're right. Especially since it was done by Team Rocket. I don't know what I was thinking."

* * *

After everyone let Misty get changed back to her regular clothes, the four traveling trainers followed Suzie back to her parlor, where the blue-haired breeder was petting Vulpix.

"Nice work, Vulpix," Suzie said, congratulating her Pokémon for its victory over Team Rocket before getting to her feet. "Thanks to all of you, I believe in what I'm doing again. You helped me regain confidence in my beliefs."

"It's not hard when the person you're helping is as great as you are," Ash chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"And Brock…" Suzie said as she walked up to the squinty-eyed trainer.

"Uh, y-yes?" Brock asked.

"I was very impressed by the way you handled your Pokémon in a crisis like that," Suzie complimented.

"Suzie…" Brock said, walking up to the girl.

"I have a lot more to learn about breeding Pokémon. Even if I do have a championship, I'm still a student, not a teacher. Looks like you and I both have journeys ahead of us," Suzie said.

"You're planning on leaving? But what about your salon?" Aaron asked.

"There are things I can only learn if I leave here," Suzie answered before returning her attention to Brock. "I want you to continue your journey, too, Brock. From now on, we're rivals."

Suzie extended her hand and, though he was a little hesitant, Brock extended his and they both shook hands.

"Sure," Brock said.

Vulpix then walked up to Brock and started to rub its head against his leg.

"I'd be grateful if you took care of Vulpix for me," Suzie said.

"Huh?" Brock wondered.

"You're the first person other than me that Vulpix has been friendly with. Right now I believe you could do a better job of raising Vulpix than I could," Suzie explained, to which Vulpix agreed.

"Thanks. I don't know what to say," Brock said as he bowed, tears streaming down his face.

Ash, Misty and Aaron could only smile at the friendship that formed between Brock and Suzie.

"You don't have to worry, Vulpix. I promise I'll take good care of you," Brock said as he held out an empty PokéBall, which opened up and sucked Vulpix in with a red light. "All right! I've got Vulpix!"

An amused smile appeared on Suzie's face as she knew her Vulpix would be in good hands. After bidding their farewells to Suzie, the four trainers headed out of the city and to their next destination.

* * *

**Me: And that's the chapter!**

***Ash rolls around laughing***

**Misty: Would you shut up already?**

**Me: He laughing at what you wore from Team Rocket?**

**Misty: *angrily* Yes.**

**Me: To be honest, I didn't mind it. But once the facepaint showed up I just lost interest.**

**Aaron: It didn't suit her, though. At least in my opinion.**

**Me: Hm... do you guys get the feeling that something's missing?**

**Misty & Aaron: What?**

***the three of us look over at Brock, who has been quiet the entire time with tears streaming down his face as he holds Vulpix's PokéBall***

**Me: Wow. He sure misses Suzie.**

**Aaron: I wonder if we'll meet her again.**

**Me: You and Misty won't, but Ash and Brock will. Though not for about another 8 seasons or so.**

**Misty: But I do admit that Vulpix was really cool. And she's such a cutie, too.**

**Me: Well, I guess that does it for this chapter. So to all my readers out there, please R&R!**

***Ash finally stops laughing***

**Ash: And try getting the next chapter up sooner.**

**Me: I'll try, but I'm not making any promises.**


End file.
